8 July – 24 September 2023

On first viewing, a work by Matthew Harris, whether made from paper or cloth, is an arresting object. The abstract surface patterns, criss crossed by stitch, or segmented by waxed thread, like the accidental blooms of crop and path within ancient field patterns or the wayward formal daring of graphic musical scores, are in themselves alluring. But with this purely aesthetic response comes a forceful recognition of the manufacture compacted in each piece. These are potent images, pregnant with meaning. And, as the title of this show indicates, the potency lies in the process by which the image has been achieved, rather than in its sheer graphic qualities. For Matthew is intensely a maker, both constructing and excavating meaning from the slenderest of inspirations. His works are permanent records of the painstaking creative activity of imaginative attention, transforming ephemeral humble experiences into resonant three dimensional art works.

Matthew is a graduate of the Fine Art Textile Course at Goldsmiths College in London. Over many years he has worked across paper and textile, using a combination of different techniques – from drawing and painting to cutting, folding, pleating and stitching. Gradually, a complex systematic practice, composed of simple elements, has emerged. At its heart is Matthew’s commitment to the Japanese Zen command: “Kan Kyakka” – which he roughly translates as “Pay attention to what’s beneath your feet.” His inspirations are scraps of salvaged material or intense memories of inconsequential things – a piece of roofing felt, a crumpled crisp packet, a four ring plastic holder for beer cans, the shapes left by machines on the floor of an abandoned factory, a collapsed child’s pink Halloween paper lantern, on the pavement beneath a street lamp. Matthew explores these found things in a variety of ways through drawing and manipulation, before they become the starting points for groups of drawings and cloth pieces.

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8 Gorffennaf – 24 Medi 2023

O’i weld am y tro cyntaf, p’un ai o bapur neu ddefnydd, mae gwaith Matthew Harris yn drawiadol. Mae’r patrymau arwyneb haniaethol yn eu hunain yn denu, wedi’u croesymgroesi gan bwythau neu wedi’u rhannu gan edau gwyr, fel blodau damweiniol mewn cnydau a llwybrau mewn patrymau caeau hynafol neu feiddgarwch penderfynol a ffurfiol graffig sgôr gerddoriaeth. Ond gyda’r ymateb cwbl esthetig hwn daw adnabyddiaeth rymus o’r gwneuthuriad wedi’i gywasgu ym mhob darn. Mae’r rhain yn ddelweddau cryfion sy’n llawn ystyr. Ac, fel mae teitl yr arddangosfa yn nodi, ceir y grym yn y broses y mae’r ddelwedd wedi’i gwireddu yn hytrach na’i nodweddion graffig llwyr. Gan fod Matthew yn wneuthurwr dwys sy’n adeiladu a hefyd yn cloddio ystyr o’r ysbrydoliaeth leiaf. Mae ei waith yn ddogfennau parhaol o weithgaredd creadigol trylwyr o sylwgarwch dychmygus sy’n trawsffurfio profiadau byrhoedlog a gwylaidd yn weithiau celf tri dimensiwn soniarus.

Graddiodd Matthew mewn Tecstilau Celfyddyd Gain yng Ngholeg Goldsmiths yn Llundain. Dros flynyddoedd lawer mae wedi gweithio gyda phapur a thecstilau, gan ddefnyddio cyfuniad o dechnegau gwahanol – o luniadu a phaentio i dorri, plygu, pletio a phwytho. Yn raddol, mae ymarfer cymhleth a systematig, wedi’u creu gan elfennau syml, wedi amlygu eu hunain. Mae ymrwymiad Matthew yn ei hanfod at ofynion Zen Siapaneaidd: “Kan Kyakka”, y mae’n ei gyfieithu’n fras fel “Talwch sylw i’r hyn sydd dan eich traed”. Caiff ei ysbrydoli gan ddarnau bach o ddefnydd wedi’u hachub neu atgofion dwys o bethau dibwys – darn o ffelt toi, pecyn creision wedi’i grychu, daliwr cwrw pedwar cylch plastig, siapiau wedi’u gadael gan beiriannau ar lawr hen ffatri wag, llusern papur pinc plentyn adeg Calan Gaeaf wedi ysigo ar balmant dan olau stryd. Drwy luniadu a thrafod mae Matthew yn edrych ar y pethau hyn wedi’u cael ar hap mewn amrywiol ffyrdd cyn eu bod yn fan cychwyn i grwpiau o luniadau a darnau defnydd.

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