Simon Matheu

Simon Matheu couples painterly gravitas with light-hearted wit. He uses acrylic spotting, a technique he developed himself, to turn his paintings into sumptuous parapets of color and movement. Though Matheu’s primary medium may be acrylic, he does not hesitate to incorporate other textures and forms. The diversity and energy of Matheu’s work keep it endlessly engaging: the dynamic thickness of a figure’s clothing might erupt against the solidity of the ground or uproarious accretions of paint might part to reveal the familiar gray of newspaper pages underneath.

Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism all populate Matheu’s artistic lineage. He calls his own work Expressive Figuration and keeps alive the vigor and forward-looking optimism that appeared in work of his predecessors. He traffics in bold, primary colors, celebrating the idiosyncrasies of the human form and the strangeness of social situations. Tirelessly exuberant, Matheu’s paintings encapsulate the density that characterizes daily life. Matheu lives and works in Bisaurri and San Cugat del Valles, Spain.