Gavin Hurley (b. 1973, Aotearoa New Zealand) is a painter and collage artist whose work playfully interrogates portraiture, identity, nostalgia and the performance of cultural archetypes. Working across painting and collage, Hurley constructs stylised, mask‑like faces and layered surfaces that unpack how histories—personal, popular and collective—are told, repurposed and mythologised through images. His portraits often draw on figures from historical textbooks, pop culture and colonial visual archives, revealing humour, ambiguity and psychological depth beneath familiar forms. He lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). 

Hurley completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) at the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 1998, and has exhibited widely in both public institutions and commercial galleries in Aotearoa and overseas. 

In 2005 he was included in Mixed‑Up Childhood at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, a major group exhibition curated by Robert Leonard and Janita Craw that explored representations and experiences of childhood in contemporary art. 

A major milestone in Hurley’s career was his solo exhibition Gavin Hurley: Growing Up at New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in Wellington (20 Feb – 11 May 2025). Curated by then‑Gallery director Jaenine Parkinson, the show brought together paintings and collages that investigate the role of portraiture as a tool of cultural meaning‑making and self‑performance. Hurley dissected various historical figures often held up as ideal exemplars of masculinity during his own youth in late 20th‑century Aotearoa, staging a “parade” of identikit characters whose awkward impersonations articulate teenage insecurity, identity play and self‑critique, while prompting wider reflection on how national narratives and cultural myths are reinforced through visual representation. 

The Growing Up exhibition included works from both public and private collections as well as newly commissioned pieces, and was accompanied by a full‑colour catalogue and public programmes including artist talks and collage workshops. 

Hurley’s work has also featured in significant curated exhibitions such as Bad Hair Day at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Tranquillity Disturb’d at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, underscoring his ongoing engagement with cultural narrative, history and visual mythology. 

His art is held in public and private collections across New Zealand, Australia and Europe, including the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and the Art House Trust Collection.