Photo Kemka Ajoku
George Rouy, a fast-rising British painter, is the latest artist to join the roster of Hauser & Wirth, the mega-gallery which operates 18 spaces worldwide. The 29-year-old painter is now the youngest artist represented by the gallery.
Rouy will continue to be represented by London’s Hannah Barry Gallery, the space that offered him his second-ever solo show in 2018.
Many of Rouy’s paintings depict blurred figures and abstracted bodies. They channel altered psychological states, and though Rouy has mentioned that his figures are loosely based on actual people, he’s also said his paintings aren’t necessarily meant to represent reality.
His paintings have been shown widely in recent years, with solo shows at blue-chip galleries like Nicola Vassell and Peres Projects. He’s also figured in group shows held by the X Museum, the K11 Art Foundation, the Albertina, and more.
Hauser & Wirth will host Rouy’s first exhibition in October in London. After that, in November, Rouy will debut a collaboration with choreographer Sharon Eyal that premieres in the British capital before heading to Paris, Vienna, and Milan.
In a statement, Neil Wenman, global creative director and partner at Hauser & Wirth, said, “George Rouy’s unique paintings, and performance works, speak of a challenging modernity, of an overwhelming anxiety and the guilty pleasures of life. They are disturbing and yet familiar, approachable yet repulsive, as if held captive in a liminal space between psyche and being, memory and edifice. His paintings create a world whereby we are caught in a loop; we see, we arouse, we deny, we suffocate, we undo.”
©George Rouy/Photo Damian Griffiths/Courtesy the artist, Hannah Barry Gallery, and Hauser & Wirth