PRINTMAKING with Jennifer Matthews
ONE OF NET-A-PORTERS INCREDIBLE WOMEN After graduating a Drawing and Print Degree at the University of the West of England, Bristol, with a first class honours and two prestigious awards; Jennifer had a surprisingly hard time breaking into the industry as printmaking is quite a niche area. She is currently an artist living and working amongst the London art scene, thoroughly enjoying her new job at Nelly Duff Gallery, Hoxton. Jennifer works as the print production assistant, overseeing the completion of new product development of high quality hand-made editions. She says, ‘It is fantastic to be involved with artists and printmakers on the daily, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved.’
Studying print at university has given Jennifer a genuine love for printmaking and an in-depth understanding of printmaking techniques, particularly screen print processes and finishes. Having constantly engaged with printmaking at university for her own work, she now continues her practice in her free time. She has worked freelance at Jealous Studios and as a studio assistant at London Print Studio, opening up doors for her in the print world. Jennifer says, ‘It is hard to find time out of work for my own personal study but it’s what I love, I try to spend my days off working on my collages as this is the first step in my process.’ ‘My practice involves using collage as a method for realising ideas and composition to present a multi- disciplinary exploration into the visual sensation of colour. Through translating ideas into screen-print, painting and sculpture, I hope to provoke a material awareness and consideration for how scale, proportion and the physicality of a material can change the translation of an idea. Through conversations of balance and imbalance, harmony and disharmony, I aim to discover the personality and weight of certain colours and how they interact, affecting the overall communication of an image.’
Jennifer says her work focuses heavily on colour, she shifts through favourite colours and favourite colour combinations when making her collages and this influences her fashion choices. In terms of buying habits Jennifer takes a sustainable approach, she says, ‘I prefer having a smaller wardrobe of high quality clothes as opposed to buying cheap clothes for the sake of always having something new to wear. I have a small selection of clothes but I buy neutral colours so that all the items work together in different combinations.’