Visual Artist
Matthew Swift
About
Matthew Swift makes paintings and artworks that move between traditional parameters marked by fabric over stretcher bars to the more open potential of the expanded field. Walking through a world in continual flux, in particular the landscapes of the North Kent Coast (UK) and Melbourne’s waterways, brings an overlapping of experiences and geographies to his work, encompassing the rural, industrial, agricultural, and urban. These contrasts of space and place are a critical starting point. He implements a non-observational approach, instead working obliquely and abstractly, discovering alternative resonances through his exploration of materials, surfaces, and colour. He stitches together disparate sections of painted material mapping and navigating a path through a patchwork of codes, clouds and signs.
He gained an MFA in studio art from NYU in 1999 where he interned for Amy Sillman. He has exhibited in New York, Philadelphia, Melbourne, London and Kent and shown extensively in group and two-person shows, including ‘Constructure’ at Standpoint Gallery and ‘Dialogue with DeKooning’ at RCA. He co-curated ‘24 Hours of Everything’ with Paula Stuttman for ‘Whitstable Biennale Satellite’ 2018. In 2014, he set up Ground Collective for which he has curated a series of exhibitions, most recently a week’s residency ‘Incubator of Ideas’ at APT Gallery (October 2020, during the pandemic) and consequently ‘Ground Work’, also at APT Gallery (October 2021). In 2008, he had a residency at the Florence Trust. He was shortlisted for the Chiara Williams SOLO Award (2018). His work is in private collections in Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.