Kate Matthews

Artist Statement

Kate Matthews breaks down the rules of established, modernist, two-dimensional abstraction.

Her practice explores the limits of geometric and optical painting through the use of colour, repetition, sequence and distortion.  Obscuring the rules of fixed, consecutive arrangements, her work generates a sense of unease by creating broken and fragmented shapes whilst in a uniform composition.  An endless battle between systems and disorder, structure and chaos echo throughout her paintings.

Referencing modernist abstraction whilst challenging its foundation of two-dimensionality and the flat surface of the painting plane, her practice includes the disciplines of sculpture and architecture.  Surfaces are created which fold inward and lie on various angles, occupying and enlivening physical space.  As the viewer moves around the work, the forms, shapes and shadows alter, creating a sense of disorientation and surprise.

Kate Matthews gained an MA and First-Class Honours Degree in Art: Theory and Practice from Lancaster University.  Her work has been included in the Celeste Painting Prize and she was named one of the top ten emerging artists in the UK by the Prospects Art Prize.  She has produced work for the Liverpool Biennial, exhibited throughout the UK and been a lead artist in numerous art residencies.