Max Hembrow was born in Oxford in 1994. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art from Arts University Bournemouth in 2018. Hembrow has undertaken professional training in classical methods of oil painting and drawing at the Florence Academy of Art & Central Saint Martins with additional training in abstract observation at the Paris Collage of Art.

 

His work combines elements of the classical European tradition and School of Paris Modernism established by Picasso, Braque, Cézanne and Matisse, with a particular interest in musical motifs and the treatment of the figure through forms of psychological analytical cubism.

 

Hembrow’s paintings of the figure interpret and explore the cubist technique of dissecting the subject from multiple viewpoints, using a simplified language of intersecting lines and numerous overlapping planes to construct an image of the body fragmented and distorted by the contemporary media. In a break from the traditionally simplified palette of colours common to early cubism, in some paintings, Hembrow embellishes the figure and surrounding space with patterns of strong primary colours suggesting the vibrant and intense colour of stained glass panels. In others, these patterns suggest a natural, ever-changing environment, both beautiful and chaotic.