Shawn McGovern (b. 1990, London, UK) is a London-based painter whose work investigates the deep, often subconscious connections between colour and memory. A graduate of Wimbledon College of Art with a postgraduate diploma from the Royal Drawing School in London, his practice begins with drawing but expands into expressive, intuitive painting that draws the viewer into an atmosphere rather than a narrative.
Solo exhibitions include Head First, Formative Arts, London, UK (2025); BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK (2018); Artist of the day selected by Stuart Pearson Wright, Flowers Gallery, London, UK (2014)
Group exhibitions include Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Mall Galleries, London, UK (2018); Small is beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London, UK (2017/2018); Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Mall Galleries, London, UK (2017); BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery London, UK, National Portrait Gallery Edinburgh, Scotland, Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2015/2016);Verso, Tea building, London, UK (2014); Artist of the day, Flowers Gallery, London, UK (2014); A Thousand Words, St Martins's Lane, London, UK (2013); Annual Exhibition, Clyde & Co, London, UK (2013); Degree Show, Wimbledon College of Art, London, UK (2013); Hans Brinker trophy prize, Amsterdam, NL (2012)
Highlights and Collections
Winner of the Contemporary Art Trust Prize For Portraiture, 2018 and Ondaatje Portrait Prize, 2017, McGovern has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. His paintings are held in private collections internationally.