McLean Edwards’ forthcoming exhibition No Immunity, will include a series of his signature figurative paintings and a suite of 16 portraits of friends. Talking about the work, Edwards prefers literary references to painterly ones. “My work’s like reading a book with the chapters all jumbled up, but it’s still a book,” he says. The jumble is deliberate and unavoidable. Edwards’ thinking is not straightforward.

Edwards' practice to date has concentrated on the human figure – especially self portraiture. Stylistically his paintings can be compared to artists such as William Dobell and Russell Drysdale or more recently with American painter George Condo. His strong following is a testament to his rich and prolific practice that positions Edwards as one of Australia’s most influential figurative painters.

Edwards was an Archibald Prize finalist in 2007, 2006 and 2004. He is collected widely in public institutions including the University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; Artbank; Orange Regional Art Gallery, Orange and the Australian War Memorial Museum, Canberra. He is also featured in the current issue of Australian Art Collector.