France-Lise McGurn (born 1983) is a contemporary artist whose work explores themes of identity, intimacy, and the female gaze through painting, drawing, print, and installation. Her practice moves fluidly between figuration and abstraction, producing dreamlike compositions that resist fixed narratives and instead invite personal interpretation.
McGurn’s artworks are characterized by flowing lines, gestural mark-making, and vivid color, lending her imagery an immediate emotional charge. Influenced by fashion, textiles, and pattern, she treats surface as an active element, allowing decorative motifs and painterly texture to coexist with expressive figuration. These qualities translate seamlessly into her prints and editions, where the tactile energy of her paintings is carefully preserved.
The human figure, often female and shown in intimate or domestic settings, remains central to McGurn’s work. Rendered through a distinctly figurative-abstract language, her scenes challenge traditional representations of femininity, balancing vulnerability with agency. Rather than idealized depictions, her figures appear fragmented, personal, and psychologically present.
Beyond individual works, McGurn’s installations expand her practice into immersive environments, where paintings, drawings, and fine art prints operate in dialogue with one another. Across originals and signed editions, her work sustains a nuanced investigation into closeness, memory, and self-representation, establishing her as a compelling voice within contemporary figurative painting.
