Public Program

Walk-through Tour of Transposing with artist Matthew Hawtin

Saturday, May 21, 2016 | 2 pm – 3 pm

Matthew Hawtin's aesthetic language investigates painting at an intersection between sculpture, design and architecture by exploring the fundamental elements of line, colour, surface, shape and form. The work also exists in a space where thoughts and feelings can live; as minimal objects of meditation that reflect the spectrum of our daily emotions.  Born in the UK and raised in Canada, Matthew Hawtin studied Fine Arts at York University in Toronto. After graduating in 1994 he gave himself 5 years to ‘unlearn’ what he had been taught in order to find his own artistic language. For his first solo show in 1999 he premiered the Torqued Paintings series, acrylic paintings with ‘torqued’ surfaces that investigated the subjective and objectiveness of painting. This initial series and reductive aesthetic has been part of his creative language ever since. His recent work, the Torqued Panel series, is another evolution in this series. In these new works Matthew has removed the physical structure of the canvas leaving only a floating surface hovering off the wall. Using fiberglass panels as the painting support, Matthew once again explores the boundaries between painting, sculpture and design. Running parallel alongside his artwork Matthew’s creative output also includes artwork for music releases, DJing and music production, as shown in the ‘Dimensions’ exhibitions in 2012. This exhibition highlighted the notions of repetition, personalization and futurism layered within his work and how the industrial and cultural landscape of the Windsor and Detroit area helped shaped Matthew’s creative language and the translation of this artistic language across different mediums. Matthew has been a practicing artist for over 15 years and has exhibited in Canada, USA and Europe. His work is featured in many private collections throughout the world.

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