Kate McAllan (b. 1990) is a painter and writer based in Glasgow. She graduated with an MA in Fine Art with drawing and painting from Edinburgh College of Art in 2013. In recent years she has exhibited in various group shows and her artwork has featured in numerous literary journals throughout the UK and Europe.
The scenes in McAllan’s work explore the fragmentary nature of memories; the intimate symbols of every day existence. Recurring motifs include curtains and household objects, paths through parks and the changing light of a room. In these paintings, home is a space for art and protection, resplendent in the rendering of quilts and wallpaper; but it also the location of quiet drama, a world within a world. Individually each work is a window in to moment, collectively they tell a story about time.
Exhibitions
2012 *EELS, Old Ambulance Depot, Edinburgh
2013 Consider the Veil, Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh
2014 The Artists Book Fair as part of Commingle Press, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
2014 Federation of British Artists, Mall Galleries, London
2015 OPAL - two person show with artist Martyn McKenzie, Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh.
2016 Winter Exhibition, Sutton Gallery, Edinburgh
2017 Southside Salon, House for an Art Lover Studio Pavilion, Glasgow
2018 Pools of Thought, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
2018 Solder, Old Tobacco Warehouse, Greenock
2018 Hoeing the Violets, Old Tobacco Warehouse, Greenock
2021 Twelve Small Oils, Gusto and Relish, Glasgow
2023 Inbetween Days, Southside Studios, Glasgow
2023 Winter Exhibition, Detail Gallery, Edinburgh
2024 The Irving Open, 2025, Irving Gallery, Oxford
Commissions
2016 Journeybox public artworks, Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership, Stonehouse.
2017 Waterglobes temporary public artwork, The Galoshans Festival, Greenock
2018 W S Graham Centenary artwork, University of East Anglia & Inverclyde Place Partnership, Greenock.
2019 Reliquary, community artwork, Scottish Mental Health Foundation & An Lanntair, Stornoway.
2021 Illustrations for thi wurd Magazine, Issue 4, Glasgow.
2022 Illustrations for Deux ex Machina Journal, Belgium
2025 Illustrations for The Waxed Lemon, Issue 9, Waterford, Ireland.
2025 Oppenheim - John Downes Memorial Trust Travel Scholarship: Hydra Paintings
2025: Two Rooms, Brownsbank Trust.
Assistance on projects/publications
2017 Th’ Fleety Wud - A Mapping of the Upper Teviot Watershed
Commissioned by CABN as part of the Scottish Borders Heritage Festival, Hawick.
2018 A Wolf Among Men - A place-aware mapping of Mar Lodge. Commissioned by Mar Lodge & National Trust for Scotland, Braemar.
2018 The Wild City with Alec Finlay & The Walking Library - a place-aware exploration of Wildness in Glasgow.Commissioned by Glasgow Life as part of Glasgow 2018.