Mandy McCartin (born 10 April 1958) is an English artist based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, a "proud butch lesbian" and DJ "classic soul fanatic".

Life and work

Mandy McCartin was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and went to

North East London Polytechnic , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

(now the University of East London). She describes herself as from a working-class background and this is reflected in her images which are often of characters in inner city settings, painted in an intense way with different media including spray can graffiti. Shows have included William Jackson Gallery (Cork Street), Whitechapel Open, Battersea Arts Centre, New Contemporaries (ICA), and James Coleman. McCartin describes her work as paintings of "real people living on the edges of society, emotional moments in the struggle to survive." Stuckists founder

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson ...

has always endorsed her work and sees it as "an intense visual confection of urban life.

David Prudames has reviewed it as "snapshot images positively bustle with human activity, delving beneath the surface of city life's rougher side. ''Tube Girls'' is all attitude and ''Charity Shops colourful confusion barks out aggression to the staccato rhythm of a busy street."Prudames, David
"The Real Turner Prize 2002"
Culture 24. Retrieved 24 November 2009. Noted author (and lawyer)

Andrew Vachss Andrew Henry Vachss ( ; October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths. Early life and career Vachss grew up in Manhattan o ...

has included McCartin on his website as one of "the artists we respect". She has been regularly exhibited as a guest artist with the Stuckists in London. She was one of the four joint winners of their Real Turner Prize Show 2002"Real Turner Prize 2002"
Stuckism.com. Retrieved 19 September 2009. and was a featured artist in their major show The Stuckists Punk Victorian at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

during the 2004

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...

. She is not a member of the group (by choice), but "does like them".

Books

* Monograph with introduction by Cherry Smyth (1996), "From the Street" éditions Aubrey Walter, London, * Ed. Frank Milner (2004), "The Stuckists Punk Victorian" National Museums Liverpool,

References

External links

Lucy Curzon, "Painting a Queer Nation: Sadie Lee and Mandy McCartin" pp. 97–115, published online 25 Feb 2011, Visual Culture in Britain, Volume 12, 2011 – Issue 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCartin, Mandy 1958 births Living people 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of the University of East London Artists from Sheffield English contemporary artists English women painters Lesbian artists Modern painters Stuckism