Matthew Harris (b. 1991, Wangaratta, lives Yállabirrang Naarm, Melbourne) is a self-taught artist of mixed Koorie and European descent. His recent paintings bring together minimal serial abstraction with familial narrative and institutional critique especially as are conveyed by materials and material histories. Parallel to his painting practice, Harris creates sculpture in a range of materials which have drawn directly and indirectly upon the labour of close family members. Humour and a queer sensibility underpin the work.
Before 2022, Harris was known for smaller scale paintings in a high key acrylic palette and distinctive cartoon style. A subtle caricature continues in the work as a vessel for disruptive content.
Harris was a studio artist at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne from 2020—2023.
Key exhibitions
- Wild Grass: Our Lives | 8th Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (JP), 2024
- Between Waves, curated by Jessica Clark, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2023
- Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2022
-
Matthew Harris: Spiritual Poverty, Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne, 2022
Collections
Artbank
City of Darebin
City of Melbourne
Murray Art Museum Albury
National Gallery of Victoria
Wangaratta Rural City