ELAINE WOO MACGREGOR

ARTIST

About

BIO

Scottish-born Chinese artist Elaine Woo MacGregor offers a unique perspective that encompasses a profound fusion of cultures. Through an eclectic use of mark-making and imagery, she weaves together atmospheric and theatrical narratives that bridge the gap between the real and the imagined. While her painted stories are often fictitious, they remain deeply rooted in research into real people, places, and historical objects.

Trained at the Glasgow School of Art, Woo MacGregor’s career as a full-time painter was established early on through her debut solo exhibition, Portraits, in Glasgow. Her work has gained significant international recognition and is held in prestigious British and international museum and institution collections, including the Atkinson Art Gallery and Museum (England), the Art Gallery of South Australia, the 21C Museum and Hotel (USA), and the Rudolph Blume Art Collection (USA).

Her practice is critically recognized through numerous accolades, including the Dewar Arts Award, the James Torrance Memorial Award, the Hope Scott Trust Award, and the Cross Trust Fund. More recently, she was a finalist for the Jackson’s Painting Prize (2022) and received the Art Paisley Prize for outstanding work. In 2023, Woo MacGregor was awarded the RSA Blackadder Houston Mid-Career Travel Award, facilitating extensive research in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

A frequent presence at international art fairs, Woo MacGregor has exhibited with the Cynthia Corbett Gallery at Art Miami, Expo Chicago, LA Art Fair, and the London Art Fair. Her recent solo and group highlights include Maman et Muses (Edinburgh, 2023), Reframing the Muse (Oxford Art Festival, 2024), and The British Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery. Her international residencies include the Guizhou Art Academy in China and the Vermont Studio Center in the USA.

In addition to her studio practice, Woo MacGregor is a dedicated educator. She has been a lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art since 2008 and the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Strathclyde University since 2009. In 2019, she founded Linlithgow Art School, where she continues to share her passion for drawing and painting with a new generation of artists.

Selected Collections

Museum & Public Collections

Atkinson Art Gallery and Museum, Southport, England

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

21C Museum and Hotel, USA

Corporate & Private Collections

Rudolph Blume Art Collection, USA

Various private collections in the U.K., U.S.A., Europe and Asia.

Portfolio