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Upstairs in the Wyatt gallery at Arlington Arts Center, Matthew Best is showing a series of paintings that have a modern aesthetic as well as a naturalist approach. The paintings developed during a series of walks, show a highly original approach to representing nature without relying on a realist or impressionist approach – which have become “the industry standard” when investigating the natural world.
Best’s approach really pays off in Ground Cherry (Thu Lu) I (see second image in video) a more spare approach to the shapes and planes of the image are offset by the open space in the bottom two-thirds of the image – adding to the drama and tension of the image. In a way these paintings play in the abstract/not abstract world – and that can be a dicey game to play. In this case even though the abstraction is prevalent, it is so clearly alluded to the representational side that the images show with a clarity of thought, not a murkiness of vision.
Supernature: New Paintings by Matthew Best is on view until April 4th, it is well worth seeing.
Please Note: You may notice a video is available of the Matthew Best show, I have recently purchased a small video recorder. It is my intention to show a short snippet of a show review. Hopefully it will allow the reader a way to see the installation and quality in a way that is different than just a jpeg or a series of words. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you feel this is a route worth pursuing.