MATTHEW SNOWDEN Outer Edges
16 January - 2 February 2018
THACKERAY GALLERY Est 1968
OUTER EDGES Every year I pack up my motorhome with trusty welsh springer, maps, cameras, sketchbooks and enough provisions for a few weeks wild camping and head off into the landscape. Spending time in the outer edges of remote areas of the UK at certain key times of the year is a vital part of my creative process, and essential for gathering potential source material. The painting is undertaken on my return back in the studio from memory and by utilising the many moments captured on film. Distilling these experiences in paint with a palette knife is always a challenge, each new painting being a unique experiment in application of pigment, texture, colour, and mark - each a distinct portrait of place. Using copious amounts of paint to carve form, you could say that I like to make my paintings as robust as the landscape they depict. Being an intuitive artist, I like to leave room for the unpredictable while I am working, allowing the viscosity of the paint to dictate where the painting is heading and at the same time not lose sight of the subject and overall feel. In the end, I am happy when I have achieved a genuine portrait of place, and have captured what I feel to be the true nature of a landscape. In this exhibition, my second at the Thackeray Gallery following on from “The Westerly Edge” show in 2016, I have re-visited some favourite areas on the fringes of the UK such as the islands of the Outer Hebrides, Skye, Anglesey, Cornwall and the far north of Scotland. All of them to me radiate the feeling of being away from it all and out on a limb, places that rekindle the soul, charge the spirit, and allow us to regain perspective on our life’s journey. I do hope you enjoy the exhibition. MATTHEW SNOWDEN 2017
frontispiece: Eriskay - acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70cm
Arisaig acrylic on canvas - 40 x 50cm
Atlantic Waves, Saligo acrylic on canvas - 40 x 50cm
Betws-y-coed acrylic on canvas - 90 x 110cm
Blabheinn, Skye acrylic on canvas - 90 x130cm
Coul Point, Islay acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70cm
Culla Bay, Benbecula acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Downpour runoff, Idwall acrylic on canvas - 80 x 120cm
Eriskay acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70cm
Faraid Head, Durness acrylic on canvas - 90 x 90cm
Gloaming, Rum acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Gorge, Aberglaslyn acrylic on canvas - 80 x 80cm
Gwythian, Cornwall acrylic on canvas - 50 x 60cm
Hebridean Coast acrylic on canvas - 50 x 100cm
Hebridean Rip Tide acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Iona Beach acrylic on canvas - 90 x110cm
Iona acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Last Light acrylic on canvas - 50 x 60cm
Lingeigh, Eriskay acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70cm
Loch Eishort, Skye acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Luskentyre, Isle of Harris acrylic on canvas - 50 x 60cm
Machair Sunset, Islay acrylic on canvas - 90 x 90cm
Midnight, Northern Summer acrylic on canvas - 90 x 90cm
Morar, Mallaig acrylic on canvas - 70 x 70cm
North Shore, Berneray acrylic on canvas - 90 x 90cm
Opera House Rocks, Islay acrylic on canvas - 40 x 40cm
Ord, Isle of Skye acrylic on canvas - 70 x 70cm
Porth Trecastle, Anglesey acrylic on canvas - 40 x 40cm
Ross of Mull acrylic on canvas - 50 x 60cm
Rubha Lamanais, Islay acrylic on canvas - 80 x 80cm
Saligo, Islay acrylic on canvas - 40 x 60cm
Shallowing Water, Hebrides acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Silver Birch, Rannoch Moor acrylic on canvas - 40 x 60cm
Spring Falls, Brecon Beacons acrylic on canvas - 80 x 80cm
Storm Loch Indaal, Islay acrylic on canvas - 70 x 100cm
Tokavaig, Skye acrylic on canvas - 60 x 80cm
Torridon Sunset acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70cm
Traigh Mhor, Isle of Barra acrylic on canvas - 90 x 130cm
Wave Slope acrylic on canvas - 100 x 100cm
BIOGRAPHY Matthew Snowden was born in Heswall, Merseyside in 1969. He studied at Withens Lane Art College, 1989 followed by Industrial Design (BA Hons) at Teesside University, 1990-93. Solo Exhibitions from 1999 – present Include: Clwyd Theatre, Wales; Dee Fine Arts, Wirral; Galeri Betwsycoed, Wales; Kooywood Gallery, Wales; Gorstella Gallery, Chester; Thackeray Gallery, London. Group Exhibitions from 2002 – present Include: Mall Galleries, London, with RI & RSMA; Bankside Gallery, London, with RWS; Royal Cambrian Academy, Wales; Galerie Archange, Paris; Summer Show, Thackeray Gallery, London. Private and Corporate Collections Include: Works in Europe, USA, China, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, National Library of Wales, Williamson Art Gallery and Museum. ©Thackeray Gallery 2018 Photography by Matthew Snowden
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