"studio practice bridges classical art history with post-internet visual culture"
Dan McAuley (b. 1993, New Zealand) is a Melbourne-based painter whose studio practice bridges classical art history with post-internet visual culture. Drawing upon Greco-Roman sculpture, Renaissance portraiture, and the visceral body distortions of Francis Bacon, McAuley examines how public opinion and the human condition are reconfigured by digital networks. His canvases contrast historical symbols of permanence and authority against the volatile, ephemeral nature of algorithmic media feeds.
Technically, McAuley translates screen-based aesthetics into layered paintings, combining traditional methodologies with the precise graphic line work of his background in tattoo art. Influenced by contemporary painters such as George Rouy, Avery Singer, and César Piette, he constructs synthetic, fluid figurative forms that embody digital glitch, light distortion, and visual saturation. Refined during a residency in Barcelona, McAuley’s practice transforms fleeting online iconography into tactile painted compositions, offering a rigorous critique of identity, communication, and belief in a hyper-connected age.