NUTRI-ARTIFICE : MATT GEE: Mixed media works

About

The work aims to discover the origins of society's desire for materialistic possessions and to question our understanding of issues such as pollution and contamination, whilst inviting us to explore the dichotomy  of Synthetic vs Authentic.

Crystals and Geodes are recurring mechanisms of Gee’s work. He enjoys the irony in the fact that crystals grow in an organic fashion but contain no DNA, and that Geodes are rough on the outside but exquisitely beautiful within and only discoverable to the keenest eye.

The titleNutri- Artifice has multiple interpretations, but essentially the origins are as follows: Nutri describes the work as nourishing, but with connotations of diet pills, fitness bars, or powdered supplement brands, and the consumerism which fills the shelves of our supermarkets.

Artifice, refers to the deceptive use of materials employed to imitate natural objects and surfaces, withlife sized anaglyphs of lava, mock geodes or crystals grown into sharp geometric formations.

 Following his Fljotstunga Residency in Iceland during May, Gee returned to the UK inspired by an isolated environment that was pertinent to his practice.He lived in constant daylight, surrounded by a vast moss-covered lava field where the mundane became exotic.For example, Icelandic gravel, which Gee describes as being like “The Geological version of ‘Lucky Charms’ cereal”,is littered with Obsidian, a form of glossy black quick-cooling lavawhich,post residency,he discovered is known to‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Minecraft’ fans as ‘Dragon Glass’.

 Gee became fascinated with how a natural material of this sort can achieve a cult-like status and began to explore within his workthe the broader question of how modern society aspires to consumer objects of desire that may themselves potentially be imitations or replicas.

Located in a Victorian terraced house, home to gallery owner Jonathan Ross and his artist wife, Camilla Shivarg, Gallery 286 has an atmosphere unlike any other London venue and its varied programme incorporates everything from easel painting to Light Art.

In Summer months there is the  added attraction of Camilla’s prize-winning garden where terraced areas and zones of rare and unusual plants provide an oasis of leafy calm seconds away from the noise and bustle of the Earl’s Court Road.

286 has Open Days every Wednesday from 12.00 – 6.00pm with viewing by appointment at other times. T: 07747 807576

You can email jross@gallery286.com for an invitation to one of the Private views and to join the mailing list.