Simon Hennessey (b. 1973, Birmingham, UK) is a contemporary painter known for his technically accomplished portraits and figurative works that challenge conventional ideas of realism. Over the past two decades, he has developed a distinctive practice that combines traditional painting methods with emerging technologies, creating images that are at once familiar and subtly disorienting. Rather than treating photography as an endpoint, Hennessey uses it as a starting point, transforming source material through a highly considered process of editing, reconstruction, and invention.

His work has been exhibited extensively in museums and galleries around the world, including exhibitions in London, New York, Venice, Melbourne, Montreal, and Rio de Janeiro. Through a career defined by continual experimentation and refinement, Hennessey has established himself as one of the leading voices in contemporary realism, creating paintings that invite viewers to reconsider the nature of perception and the increasingly blurred line between reality and representation.