Gavin Hurley's signature paintings and portraits explore masculinity and the working world of men. The nature of men's work is historicised and played out in his distinctive and quirky paintings, all oil on linen with super-flat finishes frequently in a subdued grey and pastel palette.

The artist sometimes appears as one of his working men, painting or carrying portraits of famous men and women from the arts, history and popular culture. The works challenge conventional portraiture asking questions about what is revealed and what is hidden. Viewers are left to ascribe personalities, archetypes even, to the cut-out figures.

Hurley has been working as a fulltime artist since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Elam School of Fine Arts at Auckland University in 1998. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and has works held in public and private collections throughout New Zealand, Australia and Europe.