Matthew Robertson was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from the Academy of Art University in 2012 with a BFA in illustration. He currently lives and works in Berkeley, California. Robertson’s technical oil paintings are simultaneously chaotic and controlled as he masterfully weaves the two components into one canvas to intuitively explore the tenuous balance between real and abstract forms. The new series vibrates with a sense of innocence described by bold colors, geometric forms, and spontaneous lines which merge together harmoniously with an expert sense of realism, to create a body of work that is both nostalgic and contemporary.

My artwork is driven by a need to make sense of the world, which I see as fragmented, contradictory, and anxious. I seek to capture the cartoonishness that runs through American society wherein the individual is not only bombarded by an excess of information, choice, and rampant consumerism, but is also in a constant state of wanting more. Flotsam from this perpetual cycle of consumer pop culture is woven into my paintings, embedding the figures in an intricate web that suggests the non-stop movement of the mind, as well as the depth, complexity, and interconnectedness of life.

Music, cartoons, and dreams are a big influence on my work. I am fascinated with their spatial, temporal and structural components, which I see as analogous to contemporary consciousness. I work primarily with layers of paint and collage that are woven together to create a dense network of relationships ripe with narrative possibilities. By using disparate and often ambiguous imagery, the flow of ideas is disrupted, meaning is subverted, and logic is obfuscated. My work becomes infused with an elusive visual poetry that seeks to inspire viewers to make their own connections based on personal associations.