Matthew Austin

Sediments

February 22nd – March 11th, 2023

Rage lacks nuance; it’s repetitive, churning inward.
A force that builds over time, changing, evolving, layering.
In between the layers, a muddy kind of sadness.
These works are a fight against myself. Existing on the back of failed paintings turned away.
The thick built-up edges made with modelling paste, the density of the paint and the minimal expressive gestures reference repression.
The addition of wooden components transformed these paintings into recalcitrant objects or icons.

My expanded painting art practice explores themes of loss, shame, and abstraction. I create to hold space rather than describe or explain. I engage processes of erasure and aperture to obscure and reveal. Layering, collage and texture are key components of my work, the surface expressing my current disposition. My sensitivity to embodied and somatic modes of relating is informed by my experience as a psychotherapist, social worker and queer person.