Above: Chloe Summerhayes, Perennial Lust, 2023. Oil on canvas, 66 x 51cm. COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND {SUITE} GALLERY, WELLINGTON.
For an artist who only completed her MFA at Ilam School of Fine Arts, Christchurch, in 2022, Chloe Summerhayes has already made significant waves in the New Zealand art scene. Working primarily in oil paint, Summerhayes subverts expectations of the medium, often depicting scenes that play into art- historic tropes whilst at the same time undermining them. The artist prefers to compose multilayered compositions, which she then disassembles and erases, lending them an air of surrealism and uncertainty. The artist featured in the group presentation Unearthly Delights at Ponsonby’s {Suite} Gallery late last year, which was swiftly followed by the news that Summerhayes would be joining the gallery’s impressive stable of artists. 2024 is already looking busy with a solo show at {Suite} Gallery scheduled for early July, and one can imagine her career will continue to head skyward from there.