In this conversation with Hannah Barry, artist George Rouy reflects on his turn towards drawing in a new series of works depicting the human torso. Rouy explores his ongoing fascination with using the body as a vessel through which to interrogate questions of representation and identification, and how charcoal and graphite have allowed him to venture into new territories of visual abstraction. Towards the end of the discussion, the artist talks about his recent collaborations with choreographer Sharon Eyal, and how working across disciplines has empowered him to further consider the tension between stasis and movement in representations of the body.

This conversation formed part of our Drawing Weekender, which took place over the 18th and 19th of July 2026 in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth at their Somerset gallery.

George Rouy

George Rouy (b. 1994, UK) is recognised as a leading figure in a new generation of international artists. He is known for his dynamic use of the human figure, which undermines the perception of the body as a fixed unit and instead proposes a body described by the artist as being “at war with itself”. His bold and subversive painterly language captures the grave beauty and perpetual transformation of our contemporary moment.

Rouy studied at Camberwell School of Arts (2012-2015). His live collaboration with choreographer Sharon Eyal, 'BODYSUIT' premiered at Hannah Barry Gallery in London in 2023. An expanded version of the piece, with new choreography and a new musical arrangement composed by Rouy, was shown at Wapping Power Station in London in 2024 and Hauser & Wirth’s Los Angeles Gallery in 2025.

His work is held in collections worldwide including San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), San Francisco CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles CA; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix AZ; Berkeley Museum of Art, Berkeley CA; Institute of Contemporary Arts, Miami FL; Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, France; The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna, Austria; Albertina Modern, Vienna, Austria; Stahl Collection, Norrkoping, Sweden; M Woods, Beijing, China; X Museum, Beijing, China; Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China.

Hannah Barry MBE

Hannah Barry is a gallerist, curator, and the founder, artistic director and chief executive of the arts non-profit organisation Bold Tendencies.

She studied History of Art at the University of Cambridge (2001-2004). She opened the Hannah Barry Gallery in Peckham in 2007, following a series of temporary exhibitions across South London. Today, the gallery shows four solo exhibitions and two group exhibitions annually in addition to being involved with publications, long-term collaborations and performances internationally. She founded Bold Tendencies the same year, transforming a disused car park into a now-iconic venue of culture and community.