Matt Alexander Ray

Matt was born in 1981 and grew up in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and England. Now based in London, he is a classically trained artist who works in oils and charcoal.

Matt began his training in traditional drawing and painting methods in 2005, studying at a number of contemporary ateliers in the UK and Europe.

In recent years Matt’s main focus has been still life, though he also has interests in portraiture and landscape. Influenced by traditional oil painting techniques, he uses multiple layers of paint to achieve deeply atmospheric compositions, combined with an economy of means to achieve lifelike representation with a minimum of brushwork.

Matt's work has been published in international contemporary art publications and hangs in private collections in the UK and Asia. He has completed a number of portrait, landscape and still life commissions.

Artist Statement

Influenced by the old masters but inspired by 20th century and contemporary still life practitioners such as Walter Murch and John Morra, I seek to escape the genre’s stereotypes through innovative compositions and subjects.

I explore the material culture that we create around us, devoting careful scrutiny to objects that otherwise pass unnoticed.

In recent...

London Atelier of Representational Art
Lavender Hill Studios, London

Selected awards & exhibitions:

2015 Highly commended, Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize, UK
2015 Highly commended, Portrait and Still life Professional categories, Society for All Artists (SAA) Artist of the Year, UK
2015 Journeys, group exhibition, Halesworth, Suffolk
2015 Royal Academy Salon des Refuses, SPACE, London
2015 The Camberwell Open, Orso Major Gallery, London
2014 Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2014 Finalist, Still life category, Art Renewal Center (ARC) Annual International Salon