Reviews

Vaughan’s heightened colouration, reduction of detail, strong line and playful use of scale, effectively suggests recognizable human types and social situations, generally in a satirical manner. He incorporates the highly codified social behaviour of never off-duty academics and professionals, with their veneer of propriety, mismatches in age, body shapes and beauty in his intelligently observed work.

– Sally Groom
Review of “Memory”, Surf Coast Art Space, August 2018

Vaughan Prain’s paintings are a window into a universe both familiar and new. Often clearly inspired by German works in Simplicissimus, in particular the works of Eduard Thöny, Prain proceeds to marinate them in his own style, which often results in flashes, subtle or otherwise, of Vaudeville, or Casablanca-esque dinner parties, or unreal, caricature-laden portraits where every member, every element, every expression is playing an important role, whether you recognise it or not. Prain’s art is strikingly classic at a distance, and intelligently nuanced on close inspection.

– Ashley Brown
Review of Ensemble, Collingwood Gallery. July, 2018

“Many paintings catch the eye, and the works have a fresh vivacity, with wry commentary on the human condition.”

– Brian Pieper
Review of Make a Time, Hogan Gallery, September, 2015.

“Vaughan Prain’s artwork captures the idiosyncratic details of human relationships. In his second life, transformed from a wordsmith to using visual language, Prain delves freely into sharp social commentary. His paintings offer us observations on the sometimes strange and extraordinary behaviour of the tribe. They are a smorgasbord of humour, wit, and biting satire: an entry into his refined philosophical theorizing about human psychology, that only a highly competent visual artist can produce.”

– Susan Paterson