MATTHEW ELEY BA(Hons), MISDT, MCSD

Matt Eley is a British artist who lives and works in South West London. His typographic paintings explore the emotional weight of language and the ability of a few familiar words to connect with memory, experience and feeling.

After more than three decades in graphic design, Eley shifted his focus from campaigns created to perform and then disappear to artworks created to endure.

Language is both the subject and the material of his practice. Working exclusively by hand and predominantly in monochrome, he creates typographic paintings in ink on paper and acrylic on canvas. On paper, the words have a sensitivity and immediacy that brings language close and personal; on canvas, they acquire scale, texture and the weathered presence of an urban wall.

Each work begins with a few words or a short phrase, something remembered, overheard or drawn from an internal dialogue. Eley brings a personal history to each painting but never fixes its meaning. Viewers bring their own memories, relationships and emotional histories to the work. A line born from regret may feel like relief; one painted in defiance may be read as hope.

The words may begin with Eley, but their meanings do not end with him.

FROM DESIGN TO PAINTING

Eley graduated from the University of the West of England in 1994 with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design. While studying, his work was featured in both Creative Review and Design Week, and he received a Proctor & Stevenson Design Award.

Recruited directly from his degree show by the Pentland Group, he began his career working with international sports and leisure brands including Speedo, Ellesse, Lacoste, Berghaus and Mitre. During his time at Pentland, he was elected to the Chartered Society of Designers (www.csd.org.uk) at the age of 23.

After three years at Pentland and a period of freelance practice, he co-founded creative agency 313y Limited in the late 1990s. He was elected to the International Society of Typographic Designers (www.istd.org.uk) in 1999.

For nearly three decades as Creative Director at 313y Limited, Eley led work for organisations including T-Mobile, Bupa, Santander, easyJet, Transport for London, the NHS, Bank of America and ITV. His transition into painting grew from a desire to create work that was more personal and permanent than the short life of commercial campaigns.

Across his fine art practice, he carries the discipline of visual communication into hand-painted works that give language a physical presence.

“My fascination with typography began with the giant utilitarian letters I saw in car parks and galleries as a child. They weren't trying to be art, but to me they already had presence.” – Matt Eley

STOCKISTS

www.georgegallery.co.uk
www.kellart.com
www.artsy
www.saatchiart.com