GARETH STEHR x HOTWATER GALLERY

About the Artist

Originally from Norfolk Island and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Gareth Stehr's creative practice moves between the worlds of contemporary art and skateboarding. After relocating to Los Angeles then to Mexico City to pursue a professional skateboarding career, Stehr developed a distinctive approach to painting shaped by movement, experimentation, and an instinctive relationship with color and form.

His work explores the tension between chaos and control, combining bold compositions, expressive gestures, and fragmented figurative elements. Following a serious skateboarding accident in 2021, painting became an essential part of his recovery, deepening his exploration of resilience, perception, and the human experience.

Stehr's evolving practice challenges conventional ideas of beauty and representation. Through saturated color, layered surfaces, and an unapologetically experimental approach, his paintings capture the energy of a life lived between creative disciplines, where spontaneity and intention continuously intersect.