Megan Hales

Australian artist Megan Hales (b.1989) lives and works in Sydney. Finding tragicomedy in everyday chaos, Hales’ paintings highlight the absurdities in material living. Slipping organic life into familiar urban scenarios, and teasing ulterior motives out of figurative subjects, the work provides a humanised glitch to social and environmental status quos. Concepts are built up from the autobiographical and often employ trompe l'oeil, or cinematic tropes, for dramatic effect.

Hales’ hyperreal approach touches on surreal. Beneath smooth surfaces and in detailed brushwork, she combines traditional layering of oil paint with a variety of techniques picked up in

years working as a sign painter.

Hales received her BFA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and has exhibited across Australia. Following a 2025 UK solo show, group exhibition at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum in Sydney, and with VETA by Fer Francés - The Armory Show in New York, Dog Days (2026) is the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.