Born in Palo Alto California in 1980, Hugo McCloud is one of the most prolific young artists working today. Self-taught with a background in industrial design, McCloud's practice is unrestricted by classical, academic tenets. Drawing inspiration from the rawness and decay of the urban landscape, McCloud creates rich, large-scale abstract paintings and sculptural objects by fusing unconventional industrial materials—tar, bitumen, aluminium sheeting and oxidised steel plates—with traditional pigment and woodblock printing techniques. His approach is instinctive and physical, often working on the floor, sanding, hammering and torching his materials until a total metamorphosis takes place. Driven by an enduring desire to uncover beauty in the overlooked and abandoned, McCloud's work pushes the boundaries of utilitarian materials and confronts aesthetic perceptions.
Read MoreSean Kelly presented McCloud's work in the gallery's 2014 summer group exhibition, From Pre-History to Post-Everything, and in the gallery's presentation at the 13th edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach.
Hugo McCloud lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Text courtesy Sean Kelly.
