Sarah Hendy, Rita and Shanna, 2020. Oil on glass, 90 x 60cm. Courtesy: the artist and Chalk Horse, Sydney.

Chalk Horse presents a solo exhibition by Sarah Hendy titled Wet Objects. In a firm move away from the landscape paintings of Waiting for Daybreak which focused on the hours after a near death experience, Hendy’s Wet Objects explores themes of queerness, isolation, and the gaze in art.

Split between incised portraits on ceramic tiles and works painted in Hendy’s iconic and painstaking technique of oil on glass painted back-to-front, we now encounter the other side of isolated trauma: community based reaffirmation, depicted in the artist’s familiar point-of-view style. The series – centred around portraits of queer identifying individuals and couples, who as subjects fix their gaze upon the viewer, or avert it just outside the picture frame – establishes itself as a contemporary step forward in queer portraiture.

The gallery is open and adhering to social distancing measures.

The exhibition can also be viewed online. View the exhibition here.

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