Exploring Issues of Darkness in Paint by Matthew Hindley


Amnesia - Oil and acrylic on canvas 240 x 200cm

Amnesia - Oil and acrylic on canvas 240 x 200cm

In his latest work, Matthew Hindley explores themes of darkness with his rich oils and acrylics.  These paintings capture figures in a moment of strong emotion leaving the audience wondering what might happen next.

The scenes depicted take on a cinematographic feel – characters are recognisable from painting to painting, brought to life on his large-format work surfaces to face different enigmas in each composition. Within his work, Hindley explores the subtleties of humane darkness, with studio as testing ground for a potential creative utopia.

Formally, while the works are figurative renditions of moments in time, their surfaces tilt towards abstraction, throwing a thin veil over realism in favour of interpretive memory. Hindley explores the generosity of the colour black, creating visual planes as darkly exhilarating as the fundamental schizophrenia of confronting issues of identity, sexuality and death. Schizophrenia also confronts pop culture head-on in his intriguing choice of titles – drawn from a range of influences, from pop song lyrics to fragments of speech found in psychology textbooks to Victorian poetry to Twitter trends.

Want more?  See iArt Gallery for paintings by Matthew Hindley.


Matthew Hindley - Oil on canvas 200 x 215cm

Grötmutter - Oil on canvas 200 x 215cm


Kill the Lights - Oil on Canvas 210 x 300cm

Kill the Lights - Oil on Canvas 210 x 300cm


Fantasy, courtesy...on me - 2009 Acrylic and oil on canvas 96 x 98 cm

Fantasy, courtesy...on me - 2009 Acrylic and oil on canvas 96 x 98 cm


Is there really such a thing as day? - 2009-2010 Oil on canvas

Is there really such a thing as day? - 2009-2010 Oil on canvas

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