Matilda Harrison
Matilda Harrison was born in Poole, Dorset and moved to London in the 1980s to study Art at Middlesex Polytechnic and St Martin’s School of Art. Since completing her studies she has worked continually as an illustrator, principally in the book publishing arena. She has also completed private portrait commissions and in recent years has pursued more of her own work, showing with a collective of artists in North London near her studio.
Matilda’s work has a strong narrative thread; reminiscent of folk art with its strong tradition of story telling, it draws on a fundamental human desire to create sense from a series of events. Generally composed with a central figure, visual episodes spin around and envelope the figure to conjure an almost trance or dream-like status. Sometimes these episodes are incorporated into the figure in the form of extreme tattoos or bizarre hairstyling which too tell a story.
Unlike much primitive art however Matilda’s painting is not naïve in craft; influences of outsider and folk art are filtered through a sophisticated 21st century eye. With acute draughtsmanship, a passion for pattern and meticulous detail Matilda weaves her stories with a distinctive skill and a unique voice.
Exhibitions
Matilda will be exhibiting with Hybrid at the Affordable Art Fair at Hampstead Heath, 13-16 June 2013 and Battersea, 24-27 October 2013.
Paintings in Stock. Click on the small image to view larger.
