Chloe Barnes

Chloe Barnes is an award-winning British artist and printmaker nored for her innovative approach to monoprinting. Based in South-East London, Barnes creates expressive monotypes that explore identity, sexuality, and the psychological landscapes of women’s experiences. Her work invites viewers to find fragments of their own stories within her layered, tactile portraits — images that balance vulnerability with strength, and precision with spontaneity.

Barnes studied at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), earning a BA (First Class Honours) in Illustration followed by an MA (Distinction) in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking. It was during her time at UWE that she fell in love with the monoprinting process — a technically demanding technique that produces one-of-a-kind prints by transferring ink from a plate to paper. This method became her signature, allowing her to “paint with print,” as she describes it, by embracing unpredictability, speed, and the beauty of imperfection.

Her early experimentation quickly developed into a distinctive style marked by bold gestures, emotional depth, and a refusal to conform to traditional ideas of perfection. Through intuitive mark-making and the physical immediacy of her process, Barnes turns accidents — smears, bleeds, mirrored distortions — into expressive choices. “Each monotype begins with a feeling,” she has said on her website, explaining how intuition drives her toward images that reinterpret outward appearances through the lens of psychological truth and lived experience.

In 2025, Barnes achieved national recognition by winning Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2025, the prestigious televised competition that has launched the careers of many notable portraitists. The final saw her produce a striking monoprint portrait of acclaimed actor Brian Cox, a daring choice of medium that had never before been showcased in the competition. Her ability to capture likeness and soul through a single take of monoprint — a method that allows no revisions — impressed both judges (Kate Bryan, Kathleen Soriano and Tai Shan Shierenberg) and viewers. As winner, she was awarded a £10,000 commission from the Royal Society to portray mathematician and broadcaster Professor Hannah Fry, creating what became the first monotype artwork ever added to the Royal Society’s historic portrait collection, as well as the first depiction of a female sitter by a female artist in that context.

Barnes’s dedication to her craft has been recognized through numerous awards and exhibitions. She has received the Hesketh Hubbard Bursary, the A-N Freelands Foundation Grant, the Eaton Fund Grant, and the RBS Hahnemühle Fine Art Award, among others. Her work has been shown at prestigious venues including The Royal Society, the Royal Scottish Academy, and the Royal Society of British Artists Bicentennial Exhibition. In 2023, she was selected as a finalist for both the ACS Studio Prize and The Margate Art Prize, judged by Tracey Emin.

Julian Page annouced representation of Chloe Barnes In March 2026.