Oil and acrylic on plywood panel. ‘Horizon’ began as an abstract ‘process’ painting, with dozens of layers of paint systematically applied. Gradually the layers begin to take the shape of a semi-familiar landscape, at which point this becomes the function of each subsequent layer. When I feel that the surface is complete, I begin to remove the layers, stripping the layers away until in minute increments, focusing on the subject to build an impression of an imaginary landscape through a process of careful destruction.

Matthew Webber

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Matthew Webber’s experimental abstract paintings are created over a period of weeks, months, even years, with the artist systematically applying paint until a dense slab of layered pigment and texture is formed, ready for his process of ‘unpainting’ to begin. Gradually, as this painted surface is removed, the artist slowly uncovers an intricate network of colour and contours buried within. This is painting as archaeology: the story of each piece is minutely revealed - complex and unique - emerging like marble from a hand-painted block. Inspired by the landscape – particularly the liminal spaces where nature and humanity collide – Webber’s paintings attempt to capture the increasingly unpredictable processes and events which shape the natural world. Living and working in East London for the past 25 years, Webber has exhibited widely in the UK. His work is held in numerous private collections.