Bruce McLean’s practice is distinctive, irreverent and hard to pigeon-hole. The artist’s multi-disciplinary approach attests to this: he has worked across the mediums of painting, print-making, sculpture and performance.
An alumnus of the Glasgow School of Art and Central Saint Martins, McLean’s impact on the artworld was immediate and has proved long-lasting. At the tender age of just 27, McLean had a solo exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London before going on to teach art, most notably becoming Head of Painting at the Slade School of Fine Art. His teaching practise and forthright, colourful approach to his own work has influenced subsequent generations of British artists.
Though his work is characterised by a sense of fun and approachability, it is in fact frequently underpinned by political discourse, stemming directly from a belief in the centrality of art to the development of human consciousness and to social and domestic well-being.
