Last updated: 28 October 2026
Megan Rea is the London artist who paints on handmade paper and scrapes back through the layers, so her pictures look like fresco fragments from a dig. Here you will find our take on her work, where she has shown, how to buy a Megan Rea painting, and her small panel in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Megan Rea
Rea treats a painting like an excavation. She builds up layers of colour, then scrapes and cuts through them to find the image underneath. The idea came from a 2017 scholarship trip to Florence, where she studied faded church frescoes. “Because I want it to look like a ruin or something that’s been found, like a found object, I want it to have a sense of imbalance,” she told The Creative Independent in 2025.
Her War Child piece, We Fell into the Sun, is oil and acrylic on wood. A deep crimson ground runs with scraped horizontal streaks of mauve and rose. Over it, pale pink rounded shapes, like petals or leaves, climb the panel on thin stems. Along the bottom edge, the red warms to orange and a flash of yellow, as if the sun is coming up from below.
Most of her recent work is on paper she makes herself, sometimes from pulped sketchbooks, so a panel like this is a little unusual. Still, the scraped surface is the same, and it shows her method at a size that fits on a shelf. In London, she has been showing mainly in group exhibitions since finishing her MA at City and Guilds of London Art School in 2025.
Megan Rea: the essentials
- Born in 1993 and grew up in London, where she lives and works, according to her CV.
- BA (Hons) in painting from Edinburgh College of Art (2016) and an MA in fine art from City and Guilds of London Art School (2025).
- Won the Royal Scottish Academy’s John Kinross Scholarship in 2017, which took her to Florence to study architecture and frescoes, and was selected for RSA New Contemporaries the same year.
- Won the Morrison Foerster (London) Art Prize in 2023 and the Stanley Picker Scholarship in 2024; shortlisted for the HIX Award in 2018.
- Solo shows include The Calling at Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, and The Hands That Feed at Stellarhighway, New York, both in 2024.
- Her paintings on paper sell through Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia.
Where to see Megan Rea now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is We Fell into the Sun (2026), oil and acrylic on wood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Papercut (group, curated by Danny Rolph), The Place Downstairs, London, 2026.
- Marginalia (group, curated by Emilio Martin), The Koppell Project, London, 2026.
- Nightshades (solo), Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia, 2 August to 1 September 2024.
- The Calling (solo), Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, 2024.
How to buy a Megan Rea painting
There are no Megan Rea prints or editions on sale. Her paintings sell through a gallery in the US, and there is a small panel in a charity auction:
- Paintings on handmade paper: large works such as June Chorus (2024), oil on handmade paper, 110 x 85 cm (43.25 x 33.5 in), $4,500 (about £3,365) from Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia.
- We Fell into the Sun, 2026: a small oil and acrylic on wood in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Other work: enquiries through the contact details on her website.
Megan Rea FAQs
Where is Megan Rea based?
London. She was born in 1993 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art and City and Guilds of London Art School.
Why does Megan Rea paint on handmade paper?
She started making paper from pulp during the pandemic, when art supplies were hard to get. The irregular edges and pitted surface help her paintings look like old fragments of fresco.
Can I buy a Megan Rea print?
Not at the moment. There are no prints or editions; her paintings sell through Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia.
Where can I see her work in London?
Her War Child piece is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Art on a Postcard: another charity art sale, and one she has taken part in.
- Freelands Painting Prize review: new painting worth seeing in London.
- Great Women Artists: a big, useful survey of women artists.
- Nine London gallery shows to see in Frieze week: more painting to look at this autumn.
Think we’re missing something, got something wrong, or want to be featured? Contact us.
Main image: Megan Rea. Courtesy the artist, via The Creative Independent. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
No Comments.