Beatrice Hasell-McCosh uses natural form as the lens to explore cyclicality, feminism, narrative of geographic memory and the materiality of paint. Drawing is central to her practise and she uses closely scrutinised studies made from life to make large-scale, often monumental, paintings in her studio. She works as much from memory as from the studies and, in playing with scale, the focus of importance gives way (from direct figurative representation) to a flattened abstraction of those shapes with aesthetic choices relating to composition, texture and gestural use of colour becoming the central feature of the work. With a degree in English and Classics reading widely around a subject is important to her practise. The titles of each large work cite the disparate elements of this research from literature to pop culture, song lyrics and art historical links.
Beatrice's work is a series of monumental paintings around cyclicality and identity (both geographical and imagined). Many of her works are presented in parts (a motif which began after a trip to Japan in 2018). Kintsugi and the idea of beauty in imperfection has been significant in her thinking since then and it is seen in a number of her works where the different elements of the triptych or diptych are uneven. As a twin she is attracted to multiple parts that make up a whole and most often the form of her work is in diptych.
Beatrice (b.1990, UK) studied English and Classics at Leeds University and then spent two years studying at Leith School of Art in Edinburgh and The Royal Drawing School in London. Her work is in private collections around the UK, Europe, Japan and the USA. Most recently her work has been acquired by the Royal Collection Trust, The Birmingham Museum in Alabama, USA, The Groucho Club (Hauser & Wirth), the Ligabue Foundation in Venice and the Garden Museum. She has curated exhibitions which focused on the importance of drawing. Her first museum solo presentation was at the Garden Museum in London in 2022. She works in London.
