Matt James Healy
Born in London, UK
Healy’s work explores the liminal spaces of outer and inner landscapes,
using a variety of media from household paint on handmade panels of
wood, foraged from industrial landscapes to oil on canvas and concrete poetry.
Growing up in suburban North London, an early fascination with the Romantic artists and poets has inspired a highly emotive response to his environment as over time, certain
landmarks took on an almost religious significance…
Electricity pylons become the giants of Albion; the man-made chalk
pits are now lakes of fire; wires overlapping the sun and moon produced
music of the spheres and streetlights provide portals to new realms of thought.
Until all of his surroundings in these London edgelands are
interwoven with a personal mythology.
These ‘doors in the wall’ as HG Wells called them, glimpses into the other, opportunities to transcend the everyday, fleeting moments of revelry and revelation is what Healy captures in his work and then provides the audience with a means of doing the same.
Education
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Bournemouth Arts Institute, BA hons Fine Art 2006
Middlesex University, Foundation Art and Design 2001
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
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Illuminations, Walmer Castle, 2024
Omens of the Sun, Brewery Tap UCA Project Space 2023
Edgeland Visions II, Lido Stores 2022
Edgeland Visions, Brew Gallery 2019
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Group
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Paintings, with Mark Millsted, Touchbase Gallery October 2022
Open Exhibition, Old Lock Up Gallery 2022
Give Me Love, Hera Gallery 2022
Zilch!, 8A Gallery 2021
Open Exhibition, Tarpey Gallery 2021
Open Exhibition, Old Lock Up Gallery 2021
With Mark Millsted, Wayne Reeves Gallery 2020
Outsiders, Don’t Walk Gallery 2019
Wildfire Gallery, Norwich 2019
Wildfire Gallery, Brighton 2019
Ethel Loves Me, 2018
Good Grief, Whelkboy Gallery 2018
Northampton Bienniel, Northampton Contemporary Arts 2018
Press On, Northampton Contemporary Arts 2018
Blackswan Open, Blackswan Arts 2017
Publications
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'Vigilantia: what happens when artists pay attention to Mogwai' 2023
Sea Myths feature, Myth and Lore Magazine 2023
Edgeland Visions Feature, Unofficial Britain 2022
Cover Artwork for Sadru Loops by Rob Shields 2019
Album Artwork for More Colour 2019
Press On, Pressmk.Club 2018
Art Technician and Assistant
‘A Map of how the World Works’ 2016
Artist: Brook Andrew
Pommery Champagne House, Reims France
‘Africa Captales – Lille 3000’ 2017
Curator: Simon Njami
Saint Sauveur, Lille France
‘Room A’ 2017
Artist: Brook Andrew
Musee d’ethnographie, Geneve Switzerland
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