Gregory Lind Gallery is pleased to present Studio Tan, a new exhibition by London-based artist Bob Matthews, and his fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. A catalogue will accompany the exhibition.

The works in this exhibition explore the prevalent and transformative qualities of ultraviolet light and its relationship to the threshold with the outside world. Drawn initially from Matthews’ interest in the chemical effects of sunrays he began to explore and develop a new light-sensitive pigment process combining aspects of color theory with early photographic techniques. The resulting works on canvas utilize naturally occurring and artificial sources of ultraviolet in combination with painterly techniques, assisting the generation of absorbent images that consider the pervasive influence of light frequencies that are outside the human visible spectrum.

One piece titled Limbo, 2017, which incorporates stitched thread across the surface as a method of drawing, represents some of Matthews current interests in materiality, and the ability of materials and process to reflect upon personal space and the accumulation of time. The use of various techniques across one surface as highlighted in Limbo’s free-floating forms, help to both demarcate and express the effects of light exposure.

Continuing a long-term fascination with Landscape, Matthews returns to nature again, this time through the filter of the studio, where we observe through changing light and transparency the residue of this environment. For the first time the paintings depict the artist’s direct surroundings, things close up and close to hand, the working environment, his studio surrounded by trees. Within the paintings we encounter a threshold, a threshold between studio and subject, and also the physical boundaries between nature and architecture.

Bob Matthews grew up in Dorset, UK and currently lives and works in London. He received his MA from the Royal College of Art in 1998. His recent exhibitions include Gestures Of Resistance, Romantso, Athens 2017; Horizon: Against Nature, Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi 2017; Conjunctively Evolving, Yun Contemporary Arts Center, Shanghai 2016; Abstract Apartment, Deborah House, London 2016; Print: Art in Print Today, Galerie 425, Le Cambre, Brussels 2015. His work has been profiled in various publications, including Art Monthly, Flash Art, Frieze, the Guardian, Metro, Modern Painters, The New York Times, and Tema Celeste. His work is held in private and public collections throughout Europe, Asia and the United States, including the Aspen Museum of Contemporary Art, Colorado; Government Art Collection, UK; Singapore International Foundation; Tate Gallery Archive, UK, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK. He has taught at the Royal College of Art in London since 2002.

• Press release (PDF) | Artist bio (PDF)
• Review: Squarecylinder

This exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with an essay written by Martina Schmid.