ORIGINAL OIL PAINTINGS
These are my original paintings — singular works created in oil on linen and made to exist as physical objects, not simply as images.
My work moves between contemporary abstraction, material memory and political reality. I paint what is difficult to put into words: tension, resistance, vulnerability, power, human dignity and the traces that people and events leave behind. Some paintings speak openly to political and social realities; others remain abstract, allowing colour, structure and material to carry what cannot be said directly.
Oil on Linen
Linen is central to my painting practice. I work predominantly in oil on linen, building my paintings slowly through layers of pigment, colour, texture and time.
For selected works I use antique handwoven linen, sometimes more than a century old. I love that these surfaces already have a history before I begin to paint on them. Their irregular weave, small imperfections and traces of another life aren't things I want to hide — they become part of the work.
Other paintings are created on artist's linen, but the relationship between oil paint, surface and material remains fundamental throughout my practice.
I work with traditional painting materials and techniques, but I am not interested in making paintings that feel trapped in tradition. My works develop through layering, reduction, interruption and instinct. I want the surface to retain evidence of its making — the decisions, changes and moments that happened while the painting came into being.
Art That Refuses to Sit Quietly
I don't make paintings simply to decorate walls.
I believe art can be beautiful without being passive. Memory, conflict, freedom, resistance and human dignity repeatedly enter my work — sometimes explicitly, sometimes quietly beneath the surface.
The physical presence of an original matters to me. The weave of the linen, the depth of the oil paint, the surface, the scale and the small irregularities of the painting process can never be completely reproduced on a screen or in a print.
Collect an Original
Every painting offered here is an original Manja McCade artwork. There is only one.
My available original paintings range from intimate works to large-format pieces. On each individual artwork page you will find information about its dimensions, materials and the work itself.
If you are interested in a particular painting, need additional photographs or would like to discuss a work before purchasing, you are always welcome to contact me.
Once an original leaves my studio, it belongs to another story.