Paintings. Gardens with and without Figures 2008-2015

imitating a tree
2009/ 26"x26"/ oil on inlaid panel

This is a sample of a series that I have been working on since 2008.  My recent paintings are largely a continuation of the issues I was  dealing with in my previous work.  I feel like I’m basically just taking those issues to another level.  I use arcadian images of  gardens and forests as arenas for an intuitive exploration of what I think of as  specifically painterly content, and try to create a visual euphoria particular to painting. I’ve always allowed my painting to grow into whatever shape it wants, and while there’s a strong art historical precedent to the practice of painting elaborately dressed figures in gardens and forests, it’s also organic to the direction my work is headed.

By Matt

I’m a representational painter, but I don’t think about my paintings representationally. What I mean by that is that I don’t care very much about describing the subject matter beyond its most obvious visual qualities (what color is it, what shape is it, how does the light fall on it).