Mackenzie Thorpe

Mackenzie Thorpe

Internationally renowned artist Mackenzie Thorpe was raised in the industrial town of Middlesbrough in the 1950s, where his father worked as a laborer and his mother as an auxiliary nurse.  Life for the Thorpe family was no different than that of most of their community – at times a struggle.  Mackenzie acknowledges mixed emotions about this period in his life.  He remembers the strong feeling of community spirit, the warmth and humor that flourished in the face of adversity, as well as the loneliness and isolation.

The need and compulsion to draw was obvious from an early age and remains with Mackenzie today.  As a child, he would seek out whatever raw materials he could find, drawing on cigarette packs with stubs of pencils, or using eye-shadow and lipstick illicitly obtained from his mother’s makeup bag.  Suffering from dyslexia throughout his childhood, Mackenzie found confidence in painting and drawing.  Unsurprisingly, he left school without formal qualifications, taking on a variety of manual, unskilled jobs while continue to draw and paint.

Mackenzie eventually got the courage to enter the local Art College.  His lack of education and a barely readable application did nothing to warrant support, but the strength and volume of work that Mackenzie presented, coupled with his enthusiasm and commitment, won him a place at the Middlesbrough College of Art and subsequently the Byam Shaw School of Art in London.

After leaving art school, he spent several years working with inner-city children in London, before moving to North Yorkshire to set up a studio, as well as his own gallery with his wife, Susan, and children, Owen and Chloe.  Since then, he has become one of the world’s most collected and sought-after artists.  His works express an entire range of human emotion, from the special bond of love and friendship, to the importance of self-reflection and individual triumphs.  His works are a tribute to the creativity within us all and are a vivid expression of hope and the human spirit.

Ultimately, Mackenzie’s message of life is a profound one.  He doesn’t hide the fact that often life is a struggle, a dark tunnel which can seem endless.  But he passionately believes that our frail dreams are worth nurturing and that love and honesty will triumph over adversity.

Mackenzie Thorpe Biography

Mackenzie Thorpe, Born 1956  Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire

EDUCATION

Middlesbrough College of Art  Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire

Byam Shaw School of Art   London

MUSEUM  EXHIBITIONS

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham, England 2001

EXHIBITIONS  ONE-MAN  SHOWS

The Last Chance Centre   London - 1984

The 181 Gallery    London - 1986

The Escape Gallery    London - 1990

St. Martin-in-the-Fields    London - 1991, 1992

Kings Head Hotel    Richmond, Yorkshire - 1993

The Glass House Gallery   Yorkshire - 1993

The Halcyon Gallery, Selfridges   London - 1994

The Phoenix Gallery, Selfridges   London - 1995

Halcyon Gallery     Birmingham, England - 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002

Allerton Castle     Knaresborough, Yorkshire - 1995

The Soan Gallery    London - 1995

Ozten Zeki Gallery    London - 1996

Art Connoisseur Gallery   London - 1996

Hexton Gallery     New York - 1997

Hanson Gallery     Sausalito, CA - 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

R. Roberts Gallery    Jacksonville, Florida - 1998, 2001

Hanson Gallery     New Orleans, Louisiana - 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003

Images Fine Art     Napa Valley, California - 1998

Hanson Gallery     Carmel, California - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

Kenneth Behm Galleries   Seattle, Washington - 1998

Atlas Galleries     Chicago, Illinois - 1999, 2000, 2001

Hanson Shaker Gallery    San Francisco, California - 2000, 2001

Editions Limited Gallery    Indianapolis, Indiana - 2000, 2001

Gallery One     Denver, Colorado - 1999, 2000, 2002

Galerie Zuger     Aspen, Colorado - 2000, 2001

Charles Anthony Gallery   Vail, Colorado - 2001, 2002

Kaleidoscope Gallery    Mission Viejo, California - 2002

Peabody Fine Art    Menlo Park, California - 2002

Ann Jackson Gallery    Atlanta, Georgia - 2002

Fingerhut Gallery    La Jolla, California - 2003

United Kingdom Football Tour   17 appearance including the Halcyon Gallery, London

& Exhibition Auction, Lancaster Gate Hotel - 2003

Enatsu Gallery     Tokyo, Japan - 2003

Trevor Harvey Gallery    Sydney, Australia - 2003

POP International     New York, New York - 2003

 

M A C K E N Z I E   T H O R P E  

JOINT  EXHIBITIONS

The Tom Allen Centre   London - 1985

West Ham Town Hall    London - 1986

The Ginger Gallery    Bristol - 1990

The Laguna Art Festival   Laguna Beach, California - 1991

The Highgate Gallery    London - 1992

The Blackheath Gallery   London - 1992, 1993

Artexpo Los Angeles    Los Angeles, California - 1996

Tressors Art Fair    Singapore - 1997

Artexpo New York    New York - 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

Fine Art Forum    New York - 2003, 2004

SPECIAL  COMMISSIONS  AND  HONORS

Allerton Castle Exhibition – Largest one-man show ever held in Northern England        1995

Commissioned to create a series of hand-pulled serigraphs for the European Market  1995

Artexpo Los Angeles – Selected as official artist for show poster and catalog cover  1996

Commissioned to create second series of hand-pulled serigraphs for international market 1996

Elton John Aids Foundation Commission – Holiday Card Design     1996

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, Commission – Save the Children Fund   1997

British Dyslexia Foundation Commission – Holiday Card Design     1997

William Hague, British Conservative Party Leader – Holiday Card Design   1998

Andre Agassi Project          2001

NOTABLE  COLLECTORS

Bill Wyman - Bass Guitarist, The Rolling Stones

Cameron Mackintosh - Musical Director, Writer and Producer

William Hague - British Conservative Party Leader

David Duvall - Professional Golfer