Description

Catriona Millar Artist

Ever since Catriona Millar’s 2005 Degree Show at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen sold out within hours her unique and highly distinctive figurative oil paintings have captivated and delighted art collectors. The Sunday Herald newspaper ranks Catriona Millar in the top five most collectable Scottish artists and her work is admired and collected throughout Europe, the Far East, Australia and America. Catriona Millar’s paintings speak a universal language to all ages and many schools and colleges around the world have studied her work. 

Born in Glasgow, Catriona Millar studied at Harrogate School of Art and Grays School of Art, Aberdeen. Since the success of her sell-out 2005 degree show she has exhibited across the UK including the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. In October 2006 she came to the attention of Charles Saatchi with her first solo exhibition at the Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh . Catriona Millar now lives and paints in the south east of England.

Catriona Millar’s work takes its inspiration from the stories that lie at the heart of the human condition, and the sparkle of a narrative behind the eyes of her subjects hints at everything from longing to melancholy. Her work often juxtaposes human characters with a variety of animal confidants, with some seeming physically present in the composition while others take on a talismanic quality.

Working with a palette knife, Catriona Millar applies thick layers of paint to the canvas creating a surface that draws viewers further into the piece, imbuing her subjects with a tactile quality that seems to further humanise these stylised individuals. Colourful and beguiling, her work is about the connective tissue that defines us, from the stories we tell to the worlds we imagine.