Thistles, thorns and exploding floral tributes populate Gavin Hurley’s new series of paintings, engulfing and threatening to obliterate the portraits beneath. Characters are derived from Hurley’s interest in the past—both popular culture, more austere political histories, art history, as well as continuing to mine his own personal artistic archives. Hurley masterfully, interweaves a cast of characters and ideas both past and present, real and imagined to create this new body of work.

“The Blind Botanist” by American artist Ben Shahn and more locally Louise Henderson’s “Paper Flower Seller” provide inspiration and in Hurley’s hands are dissected, deconstructed and reconfigured—his compositions and painting processes mirroring his collage techniques.