Ariane Heloise Hughes

Ariane Heloise Hughes is a British-Australian artist based in London. Appropriating often banal and unwittingly familiar narratives into a visual vernacular full of unusual and exaggerated forms, Hughes’ surrealistic depictions create a world that aims to draw the viewer in, engaging them in a process of active looking and contemplative thought. Through anachronistic objects and elements, distortions of scale and uses of colour, the artist usurps her reflections of now into ostensibly traditional and curious settings. By simultaneously drawing attention to the artifice of the image while presenting it as truth through naturalistic renderings, she is reflecting on the function of social media. Engaging deeply with the aesthetics and history of surrealism, Hughes’ paintings draw on and exaggerate the interplay between the real and the unreal.

Hughes holds a BA in Painting from Camberwell College of Art (2019). 

Solo shows include ‘Don’t Cry Because It Happened, Smile Because It’s Over’, Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2023) and ‘Better Luck Next Time’, GNYP Gallery, Berlin (2022). Hughe’s work has been featured in group shows at Allouche Benias, Ibiza (2023); The Hole, Los Angeles (2023); The Hole, Brussels (2023); Coulisse Gallery, Stockholm (2023); Steve Turner, Miami (2022); Vacancy Gallery, Shanghai (2022); Kupfer Project, London (2022); Roman Road, London (2022); Studio Berkheim, Stuttgart (2021); Chapelle XIV, Paris (2021); Daniel Raphael, London (2021); Soho Revue, London (2020).