Katie Tomlinson (b.1996, Tees Valley) is a visual artist specialising in painting. She completed an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London (2021–2023), supported by the Basil H. Alkazzi Scholarship Award. As a Lecturer in Painting, she explores intersectional feminist and queer perspectives in contemporary painting practice. With Chester Tenneson, she co-founded Queer Painting, a collaborative duo investigating how queer artists engage with painting through exhibitions, writings, and a forthcoming book.
All works © Katie Tomlinson
Website: Rory Clifford
Education
MA Painting, Royal College of Art, UK
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Manchester School of Art, UK
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, The Northern School of Art, UK
Solo Exhibitions
Bathers Bathing, Amici, Hastings, UK (June)
Giant Women, Modern Animals, Zurich, Switzerland (Nov)
The Best Things in Life Are Free, The Manchester Contemporary, Manchester, UK
Fantasy Girls, Liminal Gallery, Margate, UK
They Only Want You When You're Seventeen, LKIF, Seoul, South Korea
At Least Buy Me Dinner First, Brooke Benington, London
Fight the Moon, Paradise Works, Manchester
Selected Group & Duo Exhibitions
Micromania, Kalkman Gallery, Maastricht, Netherlands (March)
Intervals (Curated by Queer Painting), Project Art Works, Hastings, UK (June)
Slugtown Fundraiser, Slugtown, Newcastle
Liminal Salon III, Liminal Gallery, Margate
The Hari Art Prize, The Hari, London
Any, Body, Home, Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, Warrington
Reimagining Paradise, Paradise Works, Manchester
MEGA Art Fair, Milan, Italy
The Hari Art Prize, The Hari, London
Stashed, The Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery, Lancashire
Beep: Painting Biennial 2024, Elysium Gallery, Swansea
Finger!, Manchester Contemporary with Paradise Works, Manchester
Liminal Salon II, Liminal Gallery, Margate
The Pearls and the Oyster, The Birley, Preston
40 Years of the Future: Painting, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Viewing Room, Galerie Supermarkt, Tokyo
A Mirror to Vanity, Brooke Benington, London
Art on a Postcard, Gathering, London
Unannounced: The Other Voices of Silence, LAMPO, Milan
Royal College of Art Degree Show 2023, Truman Brewery, London
Eye of the Collector, Two Temple Place, London
The Future is Bright, Candid House Projects, London
Buried in Affection, Galerie Supermarkt, Tokyo
Stories, Bankley Gallery, Manchester
Fayre Share Fayre, The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
Nibble Island, ROGUE, Manchester
A Star is Just a Memory of a Star, Brooke Benington Gallery, Online
Come One, Come All, The Function Suite, London
RAW, Soho Revue, London
The Warrington Contemporary Open Exhibition, The Warrington Museum and Art Gallery
Enough is Definitely Enough, Pineapple Black, Middlesbrough
Enough is Definitely Enough, Oceans Apart, Salford
More T’ North, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston
Awards & Residencies
Research Accelerator Grant Award: ‘Queer Painting: Intersectional, Trans+, Non-Binary, Gender Diverse, Feminist and Queer Perspectives in Contemporary Painting (2015 – 2025)’ in collaboration with Chester Tenneson
Shortlisted for the Hari Art Prize 2025
Longlisted for the John Moores Painting Prize
Shortlisted for the Tees Valley Artist of the Year, and awarded the ASPire – Artist Support Programme
Developing Your Creative Practice Arts Council England Grant
Shortlisted for the Hari Art Prize 2024
Longlisted for the Beep Painting Biennial
The Basil H. Alkazzi Scholarship Award (Granted by Royal College of Art)
The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust Grant
Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant
Master Class with artist tutors Doug Fishbone, Sir Isaac Julien, Emma Talbot, Ryan Gander and Julia Scher
Developing Your Creative Practice Arts Council England Grant
The Essential School of Painting Artist Scholarship, ESOP London
A-N Time Space Money Bursary
The University of Salford Spring/Summer Micro-Commission
Jerwood Collaborate nomination, Jerwood Arts, London
Artists’ International Delegation to Denmark - Copenhagen & Aarhus, Granted by Castlefield Gallery and The Artists Information Company
Castlefield Gallery Mentee Award, Manchester
The Biscuit Factory Foundation Contemporary Young Artist Award, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle
Press, Publications and Talks
On Horrible Histories, Queer Painting, Paper, “Histories and Painting: Contemporary Negotiations” Conference, MTU Crawford College of Art & Design and Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City, Ireland (March 2026)
On Queer Belonging in Art School, Queer Painting, Paper, Synteesi Journal, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland
5 Questions With... Katie Tomlinson, Amici.art
The Pearls and the Oyster, Francesca Brooks, Corridor 8
The Kids are Alright: An Incomplete Portrait of a Small Silver of the Current Artistic Generation, Asiimov Baker
The Hari Art Prize Shortlist Interview with Katie Tomlinson, The Hari
Fantasy Girls, MEER
Fantasy Girls, The Margate Mercury
Artsy Curators' Picks: They Only Want You When You're Seventeen, Artsy
They Only Want You When You're Seventeen, Artist Interview/ Film, Seoul, South Korea
Castlefield Gallery: 40 Years of the Future, Oxford Road Corridor Autumn Edition
40 Years of the Future, Creative Tourist
Painting at Castlefield Gallery, Northern Soul
Painting Abstract Exhibition Review, The Mancunion
Painting Practice and the "Usefullness" of Painting, Bananas Are Not The Only Paint Symposium, Birley Studios, Preston
How to Sustain Your Career: An In-Conversation with Katie Tomlinson and Robin Megannity, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Louisa Buck in Conversation with Katie Tomlinson and Guy Oliver,panel discussion at Brooke Benington
Hors D'oeuvres: Katie Tomlinson, a publication of work by Katie Tomlinson in collaboration with George Gibson
Top 5 Exhibitions To See In January 2023, Written by Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine
Interview with Katie Tomlinson, Contemporary Art Projects
Bunker Talk, Artist Talk at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University
Exhibiting Painting Practice and Employability, Visiting Artist Talk at The University of Gloucestershire
Fight the Moon exhibition review by Matthew Retallick, Corridor 8
Inside the Physical, Contextual essay written by Jenny Eden, The Artists Information Company
Zoe Watson in conversation with Katie Tomlinson, Paradise Works Instagram Live
Obstructions Artist Panel Discussion, Castlefield Gallery, Online
Contemporary Painting Practice and Professional Development, Visiting Artist Talk at University Centre St Helens (Fine Art, Painting)
Enough is Definitely Enough, Publication commissioned and edited by Dr Andrew Bracey, University of Lincoln
B.A.T, Publication edited by SUPER ISSUE Editions, France