Biography
Paying homage to the Fauvists, Matthews’ latest body of paintings, Nature built it first, also breaks away from an earlier impressionist focus and leaves her own mark on Modernism. Fluorescent pinks, oranges and yellows burst over exquisitely handled and academically drawn landscapes. Bold lines are etched deeply into the paint surface, whilst her subject matter is treated with a high degree of simplification and abstraction through the clever use of stencils, heightening the spectral and optical effects of the palette.
The interplay of contrast and depth of colour creates raw emotion in these canvasses. Matthews is at the height of her powers here - indeed these works seem the logical manifestation of her journey as an artist.
