Matthew Stone Art
Matthew Stone is an artist and shaman. These two interconnected roles are defined by his activities as painter, photographer, sculptor, performance artist, writer, Optimist and cultural provocateur.
“Optimistic thought without action will not fix broken systems. In fact pitching optimism as the primary means of self-actualisation for those facing genuine adversity can be a patronising tool of oppression. By-your-bootstraps philosophies tacitly reassert the toxic idea that inequality arises from the attitudes of those who are oppressed rather than the systemic violence enacted upon them.”
Stone’s most recent body of work demonstrates an innate enthusiasm for the development of painting within the framework of art history. The new works, use 3d modelling software and paint to break with the history of painting on a flat surface, lifting the strokes into a virtual and free space. The addition of shadows and foreshortening creates an illusionistic - trompe l’oeil sense of depth and perspective within the canvases. He organises and examines complex statements in regard to the relationship between painting, photography & computer generated imagery disrupting the holy status of painting as the ‘cosmic flesh’ of art history whilst simultaneously pushing the visceral experience of paint forward. The series offers a new technical approach to traditional painting, showing diverse bodies at play and in conflict.
