Hugo McCloud

Brooklyn-based artist Hugo McCloud is one of the most prolific young talents 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, aluminum sheeting and oxidized 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.