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Morag Caister, a British artist based in London, graduated in 2019 from the University of Brighton. Her work is featured in prestigious collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Soho House. In 2022, Caister won Sky Art’s Portrait Artist of the Year TV series resulting in a commission to paint British icon Sir Lenny Henry, and has since emerged as a candidate for Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe: Art & Culture, as well as one of thirty creatives named in the Evening Standard's 'London's Art Power List 2023'.

 

At the core of Caister’s practice lies a profound exploration of existential concepts through figuration; the contemporary portrait and nude. Her artwork delves into timeless themes and cyclic patterns inherent in human nature, contributing to a rich tapestry of the human experience. Drawing from live sittings, Caister captures the essence of her subjects through intricate, emotive lines that resonate with a sense of repetition. Her thoughtful use of colour, applied sparingly yet effectively, breathes life into her portraits, resulting in vivid and dynamic representations.

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Phoebe Minson (Curator, Writer, Artist)

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'Tender, truthful, touching. Morag Caister’s figures hold their spaces on the page with a truth that goes beyond mere slavish representation. Her characters are honest, open, engaged and, despite the fragmentation of colour from which they are composed, have a strange fullness and completeness about them that somehow allows you to understand them and their physicality in the space. Caister’s bodies are sparingly filled in, often floating, lost in the emptiness of the space that surrounds them, and her delicacy of touch, her understanding of, and sheer brilliance with line add up to something wholly persuasive and singularly seductive.'

 

Kathleen Soriano (Independent Curator, Cultural Consultant, Broadcaster)

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Education

University of Brighton, BA, Painting, 2019

Brighton Metropolitan College, Foundation, Art & Design, 2014

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Exhibitions

2025

France, Paris, Galerie Gardette/The Curators - (Solo Exhibition)

2024

US, Miami, Rhodes Contemporary Gallery - 'Untitled Art Fair'

London, Copeland Gallery - 'The Cass Art Prize 2024'

London, Delphian Gallery - 'Open Call Winners 2024'

London, Rhodes Contemporary Gallery - 'Peacetime' (Solo Exhibition)

London, The National Portrait Gallery - 'The HSF Portrait Award 2024'

London, Rhodes Contemporary Gallery - 'Embraced'

Glyndebourne, Glyndebourne Festival - '90 Years At Glyndebourne' 

2023

London, Rhodes Contemporary Gallery - 'Origins'

London, London Print Club - 'Blisters'

Somerset, Babington House - 'Babington House Art Fayre'

London, The National Portrait Gallery - 'Portrait Artist of the Decade: Portraits of Judi Dench'

London, Unit 1 Gallery - 'Take My Hand'

London, The Hoxton Gallery - 'AOAP x Jack Trodd Auction'

2022

Albania, Tirana, Gallery 70 - 'Looking For Peace' (Solo Exhibition)

Sweden, Stockholm, Gallery 70 - 'Supermarket Art Fair'

London, Blue Shop Cottage - 'WOP4'

London, The Truman Brewery - 'The Other Art Fair'

Warwickshire, Compton Verney Art Gallery - 'Portrait Artist of the Year: The Exhibition', curated by Kathleen Soriano

Rochdale, Touchstones Gallery; Sheffield, Millenium Gallery; Sunderland Museum - The Football Art Prize touring exhibition

2021

Glyndebourne, Gallery 94 - 'Fairground I'

London, Mall Galleries - 'Figurative Art Now'

Brighton Fringe - 'ALTERED'

Glyndebourne Arts Festival, Gallery 94 - 'Forces of Nature'

Brighton Fringe - 'Artists Open Houses'

London, Ruth Borchard Collection - 'Self-Portrait Prize 2021'

London, Blue Shop Cottage - 'WOP3'

London Paint Club - 'Fresh Perspectives'

2020

Glyndebourne, Gallery 94 - 'Fairground'

London, Mall Galleries - 'ING Discerning Eye 2020'

Albania, Tirana, Destil Arts Centre - 'Allie, Joe, Morag'

2019

London, The Truman Brewery - 'Free Range'

Brighton, The University of Brighton - 'Degree Show'

Hove Museum - 'Material Practices'

Albania, Tirana, Destil Arts Centre - '…&…'

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Prizes, Shortlists & Residencies

The Cass Art Prize, UK, 2024 (shortlist)

Delphian Gallery Open Call, UK, 2024

Herbert Smith Freehills Award, UK, 2024 (shortlist)

NG Art Creative Residency, France, 2024

NG Art Creative & Galerie Heimat Award, France, 2024 (highly commended) 

Evening Standard Art Power List, UK, 2023

Jackson's Painting Prize, UK, 2023 (longlist)

Forbes 30 Under 30, Art & Culture, Europe, 2023 (candidate)

Portrait Artist of the Year: Season 9, UK, 2022 (winner)

Partnership Editions Open Call, UK, 2022 (winner), selected by Yomi Adegoke

The Football Art Prize, UK, 2022 (shortlist)

EROS Award, The Curators, New York/France, 2021 (winner), selected by Diana Widmaier Picasso

Self-Portrait Prize, Ruth Borchard Collection, UK, 2021 (shortlist)

Portrait Artist of the Year: Season 7, UK, 2020 (semi-finalist)

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Collections

The National Portrait Gallery, London 2023

Cecconi's Bicester Village, Soho House, 2022

Brighton Beach House, Soho House, 2022

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Selected Press & Interviews

2024

Art Plugged: Morag Caister Debut Solo Exhibition - 'Peacetime'

2023

Evening Standard: Art Power List 2023: Meet the 31 movers, shakers and picture-makers reinvigorating the city’s art scene

Glass Magazine: Glass delves into portraiture with Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Morag Caister, by Phoebe Minson

Harper's Bazaar: Inside Elizabeth Day's laid back South-London Home

Pure Arts: Interview

2022

Cassart: Portrait Artist of The Year: Series 9, Exclusive Winner's Interview

Making A Mark: Winner's Episode, Painting Sir Lenny Henry, Review

Soho House: Artist Spotlights: Anastasiia Fedorova Interviews Morag Caister

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Broadcast

Storyvault, Sky Arts, Portrait Artist of the Decade, UK, 2023

Unity House, Sky Arts, Stories from the National Portrait Gallery, UK, 2023

Storyvault Films, Sky Arts, Portrait Artist of the Year Series 9, UK, 2022

Storyvault Films, Sky Arts, Portrait Artist of the Year: The Exhibition, UK, 2022

Storyvault Films, Sky Arts, Portrait Artist of the Year Series 7, UK, 2020

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