Matthew Howe

My current work stems from a project I began at university. In deciding what to do, I began by observing my immediate environment. I noticed the diversity of the people around me. Most had their heads down, unaware of their surroundings. I overheard people talking on the phone, planning the evening’s events, setting up a meeting, arguing with their partner. Over the next few weeks, I found that no matter where I was, people were seemingly oblivious or too busy to take in the subtle beauty of the world around us. Some would describe this as being “lost in your own world.”

In response to this, I began to draw these people. I felt that I was capturing a moment in time, the environment and the people in it, giving them, and myself, an opportunity to stop and look.

I travelled to London many times, drawing on the underground, in train stations and busy urban spaces. I had to develop a quick, fluid mark to capture as much of a character as I could in this short space of time. I realised that the urgency of the mark making mimicked the sense of 'pace' of the kind of people-populated environments I was drawing. My hurriedness to capture all the information in line spoke further of the atmosphere and tension of these places.

Afte...

BA Hons Fine Art
Plymouth University (2013 – 2014)

FDA Fine Art
Plymouth University (2011 – 2013)

Diploma in Art
Petroc College (2010 – 2011)

Select Exhibitions

Parallax Art Fair,
Chelsea, London (Oct. 2015)

NDA at the Plough
The Plough, Devon (2015)

Parallax Art Fair,
Chelsea, London (Jun. 2015)

Untitled
Art Trek, Royal Leamington Spa (2014)

Collective
Gallery Squared, Royal Leamington Spa (2014)

Presentation
Gallery Squared, Stratford upon Avon (2014)

Currents
Somerset College of Art and Technology (2014)

Free Range
The Truman Brewery, London (2014)

Hands, Eyes, Ears
Goodwin Gallery, Barnstaple (2013)

Solo Exhibitions

Same Story Different Day
The Goodwin Gallery, Barnstaple (2015)

Tolerable
Gallery 150, Leamington Spa (2014)