Kirsty McLean uses Escher-like tessellations to create forms that seem to hover above the pictorial plane. She enjoys exploring illusions of space, rhythm, and movement through painting. The precise shapes of her figures contrast with the abstract, organic shapes of their blurry shadows and this duality symbolises the interplay between rationality and imagination, physical and metaphysical. 

Kirsty lived and worked in Japan and Borneo for 23 years and returned home to New Zealand in 2022 to focus on her art. In 2023 she was an award winner in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award, and was selected for two exhibitions: Puke Ariki’s ‘Home Work Maunga Auaha: Taranaki Art 2024’ and Percy Thomson Gallery’s ‘Yours Truly X’ . In 2025 she was a finalist in New Zealand Academy Prize for Visual Arts and an award winner in the Taranaki National Art Awards. She was selected as a finalist in the 2026 New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Awards.

For commissions and purchase enquiries, please email: kirstymcleanart@outlook.com