On the surface, the subject matter of Steve Hurd’s paintings – rainbows, shoes, teenage confessions & heartthrobs, consumer product logos, aluminum foil and of course cats – dazzle. Challenging the very images they depict, the source materials are not only lushly painted but also infused with visual manipulation & the illusion of depth, ultimately creating new, strange, seductive & humorous ways to see the once familiar.

Hurd also presents never before exhibited early paintings based on collages he created, which in turn reference Greek friezes. The paintings are done so skillfully that they become successful trompe l'oeil – they look deceptively like the collages that they are paintings of.

Saturated with sly references, witty sarcasms & bold ironies, Hurd’s latest exhibition of recent and early paintings at Rosamund Felsen Gallery, visually critique and methodically explore the culture of images, along with the very process of painting itself.