ART
Matthew Stone
Words by Katie Farley
It is to some degree impossible to confine Matthew Stone to a singular working profession because his catalog of creative dexterities appears to be somewhat limitless. Though essentially, first and foremost, he is an artist and shaman. When these two roles are artfully amalgamated, Stone then presents a unique showcase, where his professions fall into the varied and skillful realms of painter, photographer, sculptor, artist, and writer, and when he finds the time, optimist and cultural provocateur are factors that further contribute. Needless to say, Matthew Stone perhaps isn’t your average artist, as his designs illustrate.
Acknowledged as a pioneering influencer amid a varied number of counter-cultural movements based in London, it was this act that instigated his artistic journey. Many accredited him for being a contributory figure in the development of !WOWOW!, the South London art collective.
When regarding Stone’s reaction to color, composition, and treatment surrounding the human body, the multidisciplinary artist strives to design in unequivocal connection to the history of painting. This is achieved with the intent to comprehend and express ideologies which relate to the body itself, through wider and abstract implementations. Through the medium of art as publicity, where he aims to discover optimism and conceivable opportunity for social unison, Matthew explores perceptions of interconnection, collaboration, and hierarchy.
Stone’s latest body of work illustrates a natural passion for the expansion of painting amid the context of art history. Innovative operations include 3D modeling software and paint to break with the history of painting on a flat surface, elevating each stroke into a cybernetic and free space. A feeling of depth and perspective within the canvas is achieved by shadows and foreshortening imbues an illusionistic – trompe l’oeil spirit. This work titled Healing With Wounds was displayed at London’s Somerset House as part of Utopian Voices – Here & Now.
Stone summarises “These new works divert from my previous, purely optimistic imaginings of neutral utopias. Aiming to recognize both the difficulties of and inherent potential for; mutual and interdependent types of societal healing.” Matthew Stone’s multimedia aesthetics evoke conceptually stunning outcomes that stimulate the mind, pathing the way for future artists whose works aim to be limitless.
