Draft:Machiko Edmondson

Machiko Edmondson (also known as Cyan Dee) is a British artist known for her exploration of desire and identity and the concept of perfection in both contemporary society and the language of painting itself. Working primarily in painting, she employs a hyper-realistic yet stylized approach to depict faces that challenge perceptions of beauty and reality.

Edmondson changed her name legally to Cyan Dee in 2005. Despite this, she continued to work under her previous name. In parallel, she also uses her legal name as an alias for a body of work that delves into the themes of fandom and impersonation.

Early Life and Education

Machiko Edmondson was born on 29 August 1961 and has been based in London since the early 1980s. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 1995 and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London, in 1992.

During her time at Goldsmiths, she began to develop her unique style that blends traditional painting techniques with contemporary digital aesthetics.

Artistic Career

Themes and Style

Edmondson refers to her practice as a "representation of painting" rather than being representational. Despite the use of faces as her primary subject matter, she does not consider her work to be figurative paintings or portraits in the traditional sense.

She employs the visual language of fashion photography to question ideals of beauty and desire, creating an experience that destabilizes conventional notions of identity and representation.

In recent years, Edmondson began using the alias Cyan Dee for smaller works and fan art-inspired pieces, which she calls "impersonators." Professor Andrew Renton of Goldsmiths University has described these works:

Cyan Dee is an alter ego of Machiko Edmondson: another version of herself and another way of painting. She calls these little works 'impersonators'. It's a parallel practice of portraiture once removed, as if there were some kind of stand-in, where resemblance is uncannily familiar but never quite what—or who—it seems.

Art historian and curator Marco Livingstone has praised Cyan Dee’s "Fandom/Impersonator/Doppelgänger" series:

Cyan Dee's A4-sized portraits of favourite pop musicians work deliberately within the humble realm of fan art but elevate this form to a dazzling level. Painted in oils, each is a declaration of love to a creative spirit who has impacted her life... Her passion for the music shines through.

Cyan Dee herself has commented on her methodology and the use of appropriation in her work:

Engaging in the production of artwork informed by fandom inherently involves the use of appropriation; while the images are absorbed and consumed through this method, identification and desire collapse into one another... They are paintings of 'unattainable desire', replacing the narcissism of the subject with that of the painting itself.

Exhibitions and Collaborations

Edmondson has exhibited extensively both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Her work has been featured in galleries such as:

Victoria Miro Gallery (London)

• Face to Face in 1996
• Artists included: John Currin, Machiko Edmondson, Jun Hasegawa, Alex Katz, Robin Lowe, Elizabeth Peyton, Alessandro Raho, and Mike Silva.

Laurent Delaye Gallery (Solo exhibition in 1997)

Millan Gallery (São Paulo) & Oscar Cruz (Rio de Janeiro)

• Toured group exhibition Painting Per Se
• Curated by Gerard Hemsworth
• Artists: Machiko Edmondson, Jane Harris, Brad Lochore, Claudia Marchetti, Michael Stubbs

[Additional exhibitions and references as appropriate.]

Market Recognition

Previously collected by prominent collectors such as David Teiger and Frank Cohen, Edmondson’s paintings have been featured in major auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's, with some works achieving prices over six figures (USD) in the late 2000s. This commercial success underscores the significant impact and demand for her art in the contemporary market at the time.

Critical Reception

Edmondson’s paintings have been discussed in various art publications and were featured in the 250th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2018, coordinated by Grayson Perry. The exhibition was covered by BBC Two, bringing her work to a wider audience.

In 2024, the Evening Standard featured Cyan Dee’s piece—a charcoal drawing made from an image generated by AI—at a group exhibition titled THIS PERSON DOES NOT EXIST at RNat5A Gallery, highlighting exploration of AI-generated imagery and its impact on perceptions of reality.

Personal Life

After spending four years in New York, Edmondson returned to London, where she continues to live and work. She remains active in the art community, frequently participating in exhibitions and contributing to discussions on contemporary art and identity.