Background

                                       

                                     

 In the1980s, I earned an MA in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph. Shortly after, I had the good fortune to sit in on a performance art class taught by Reinhard Reitzenstein, and my interests turned to making art.

For the next few years I made wood-based sculptural installations which I showed in galleries throughout southern Ontario, including the Glendon Gallery at York University and the Eye Revue at Toronto’s Union Station. 

I've always been attracted to the process of painting. Around the late '90s I was doing some drawings and, to achieve certain effects, started mixing oil in with powdered graphite, then powdered pigments with the oil. The tactility of the materials drew me closer to the paint medium, and before I knew it I was painting in all but name.

There are a lot of things that influence how I paint, some obvious (early Flemish art, Francis Bacon) and some esoteric (the psychic photographs of Ted Serios, Japanese portrait sculpture), though certainly the biggest influence has been the artists and art lovers with whom I’ve developed running dialogues over the years.

I live in Vancouver, Canada

Many paintings on this site are for sale. Prices vary, starting at $400. Please send me an email for further details or to arrange a studio visit.

Matthew Budden, 2010