Matt Harley is a Canadian contemporary visual artist who graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1978, co-founded YYZ Artists’ Outlet in 1979, & served on the boards of directors of both YYZ & A Space.
With Tom Dean, he co-curated Works By…, a seminal exhibition at A Space that heralded the end of abstraction as the dominant art form and "foretold the coming of the giant, inclusive grass-roots exhibitions like Monumenta, Chromaliving & New City of Sculpture in Toronto.” (- Andy Fabo)
His unaffiliated comic strip, Pablo da Vinci, first published in Wegway in 2002, appeared regularly, from 2005 thru 2011, in The City of St Catharines Culture News and subsequently in On the Twelve, Rodman Hall Art Centre’s quarterly newsletter.
Mr. Harley’s artworks can be characterized as representational drawings & paintings encompassing both contemporary & traditional materials & concerns. His work hangs in corporate, public, & private collections on five continents including the National Gallery of Canada as part of the Art Metropole Collection. A member of CRAM International, he is currently working primarily in watercolour, gouache and enamel, with 24 carat gold leaf on wood panels both new and weathered, and is planning to expand this series to include oil paints.
With Tom Dean, he co-curated Works By…, a seminal exhibition at A Space that heralded the end of abstraction as the dominant art form and "foretold the coming of the giant, inclusive grass-roots exhibitions like Monumenta, Chromaliving & New City of Sculpture in Toronto.” (- Andy Fabo)
His unaffiliated comic strip, Pablo da Vinci, first published in Wegway in 2002, appeared regularly, from 2005 thru 2011, in The City of St Catharines Culture News and subsequently in On the Twelve, Rodman Hall Art Centre’s quarterly newsletter.
Mr. Harley’s artworks can be characterized as representational drawings & paintings encompassing both contemporary & traditional materials & concerns. His work hangs in corporate, public, & private collections on five continents including the National Gallery of Canada as part of the Art Metropole Collection. A member of CRAM International, he is currently working primarily in watercolour, gouache and enamel, with 24 carat gold leaf on wood panels both new and weathered, and is planning to expand this series to include oil paints.
GILT SERIES PAINTINGS RECENTLY COMPLETED
Gilt Series #19. Still-Life Study for ‘Boy! Bitten By A Plastic Snake!’ (Homage to Caravaggio – Pastiche of ‘Boy Bitten By A Lizard’); 2013; plywood, rabbit skin glue, chalk, coloured pencil, watercolour, gouache, enamel, mordant size, 24 kt. gold; 43.2 x 57.8 cm (17 x 22.75 in)
photographed in a white room under dimmed, indirect incandescent light; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto; private collection
photographed in a white room under dimmed, indirect incandescent light; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto; private collection
Gilt Series #16. Allegory of Aging (Shot Tulips); 2013; rabbit skin glue, chalk, watercolour, gouache, enamel, mordant size, 24 Kt. gold on plywood; 43.5 x 33.2 cm (17.125 x 13.125 in)
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto
Gilt Series #15. Allegory of Seeing a Projection While Thinking You're Seeing the Other (Homage to Caravaggio); 2013; rabbit skin glue, chalk, watercolour, gouache, enamel, mordant size, 24 Kt. gold on plywood;; 38.1 x 30.5 cm (15 x 12 in)
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; private collection
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; private collection
Gilt Series #14. Yellow Flowers - Allegory of Aspiration (Homage to Van Gogh); 2013; rabbit skin glue, chalk, watercolour, gouache, enamel, mordant size, 24 Kt. gold on plywood; 41.8 x 32.2 cm (16.375 x 12.75 in)
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto; private collection
photographed in a white room under incandescent and daylight; exhibited, The Gladstone, Toronto; private collection
