Matt Coyle

PAINTINGS

23 May — 8 June 2024

Born 1971, Hobart
Lives and works in Hobart

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“I’ve known Matt and been fascinated by his work for a very long time. I don’t know anyone like him. I truly believe he is a great artist, if by “great” we mean some weird, inimitable combination of insight, visual power, and deep originality.  Sebastian Smee

 Matt Coyle stands as a masterful conjurer of the uncanny. His command of pen and ink transcends the ordinary, leading viewers into a realm where the familiar meets the disconcerting.

Coyle's artistic arsenal consists of pen, ink, gauche, air brush paints and coloured pencils—yet his noir-esque creations possess a disquieting likeness that blends into unsettling dreamscapes. The otherworldly texture of his works, rendered through the interplay of flat planes of colour and three-dimensional forms, blurs the lines between reality and illusion. Flecks of recognisable forms dissolve just as quickly as they appear. He plays with the surreal, leaving us entranced and unsure if what we see is truly there.

In the hands of Coyle, the mundane becomes mysterious. The result is an undeniably uncanny experience that perpetually eludes our comprehension. He intricately weaves the picture plane into a mesmerising tapestry, where elements fold in on themselves. The fusion of spray paint and mark-making adds layers of complexity, resulting in a kind of disturbing beauty that is both brooding and unbound. Coyle navigates the thin line between reality and illusion, light and dark. He is a versatile figure in contemporary Australian art, a true master of the uncanny.  —Anthea Mentzalis.

“I’ve known Matt and been fascinated by his work for a very long time. I don’t know anyone like him. I truly believe he is a great artist, if by “great” we mean some weird, inimitable combination of insight, visual power, and deep originality. Greatness doesn’t always involve technical virtuosity. But as anyone who has seen Matt’s pen drawings or looked closely at these works knows, he has astonishing skills - skills that can leave your jaw on the floor. 

What counts more, though, is the deep feeling of necessity you get from Matt’s work. These paintings bubble up from deep down in his being. They’re powerful, brooding, beguiling, and I think intensely beautiful. They utilize chance and intuition, but they’re also darkly orchestrated and deeply felt. You’ll never tire of looking at them. You’ll always see something more.”  —Sebastian Smee, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic, The Washington Post.  (For an extended synopsis, click here)

 
*This exhibition was made possible by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia

\ Exhibition featured works

Matt Coyle

ARTWORK PRICELIST - MATT COYLE "PAINTINGS" EXHIBITION

Matt Coyle

Inner City Landscape 1

2022 \ Acrylic on board \ 120 x 122cm

SOLD

Matt Coyle

Inner City Landscape 2

2023 \ Acrylic on canvas \ 120 x 150cm

SOLD

Matt Coyle

M.S #1

2022 \ Acrylic on board \ 61 x 59cm

SOLD

Matt Coyle

M.S #4

2022 \ Acrylic & enamel on board \ 49 x 55cm

Matt Coyle

Resurrection

2024 \ Acrylic and enamel on canvas \ 70 x 62cm

Matt Coyle

Skyline

2023 \ Acrylic & enamel on canvas \ 137 x 89cm

SOLD

Matt Coyle

Skyline with easel

2023 \ Acrylic and enamel on canvas \ 120 x 140cm

Matt Coyle

The Plant

2024 \ Acrylic & enamel on canvas \ 100 x 94cm

Matt Coyle

The Rumpus Room

2020-22 \ Acrylic on board \ 70 x 60cm

SOLD

Matt Coyle

The Site

2024 \ Acrylic and enamel on canvas \ 120 x 180cm

\ News

Insight

Art critic Sebastian Smee on the art of Matt Coyle

21 May 2024

Matt Coyle has long been one of Australia’s most original and captivating artists. The work he has been making over the past five-to-ten years convinces me that he is in the midst of a major breakthrough. 

Read more

\ Other exhibitions

Jun Chen

RED LAND

24 September — 19 October 2024

OTHER WORLDS

Group Exhibition

3 September — 21 September 2024

Suzanne Archer

Winds of change and sands of time

12 August — 31 August 2024

Contact Us

to find out more about PAINTINGS.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)