This series of new paintings expands on Van Schaick’s continued interest in vulnerability and connection, and the discomfort surrounding these ideas. Closely cropped figurative forms, in varying degrees of ambiguity, invite active observing, forcing the viewer to question what they are witnessing. The perspective of the compositions is manipulated, turned sideways or upside down, to disrupt the viewing experience and further abstract the forms.

Hugh Van Schaick, born 1992, is an artist living and working on Gadigal and Wangal land, Sydney, Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The College Of Fine Arts UNSW, and a Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts from the National Art School. He has had 4 solo exhibitions, and shown in a number of group exhibitions. He has been a finalist in numerous art prizes including the Hawkesbury Art Prize, The Shirl National Youth Portrait Prize and the Hornsby Art Prize. His works are held in private collections across Australia.