17 October 2009 - 3 January 2010
Gallery 2

Sons of Pioneers
Matthew Houlding

Houlding's new sculptures and collages are an homage to the utopian zeal of modern architecture and Hockney’s Bigger Splash painting.

Drawing on Structuralist and Formalist ideas of architectural design and the relationships between intersecting materials and planes, contrasting geometry is framed by bold, primary coloured Perspex, which casts a Californian sunny glow over split level condo-like exteriors and interiors.

^{Matthew Houlding. Ocean Vantage, 2009, Mixed media, 95 x 140 x 33 cm}

This juxtaposition of materials – from cardboard boxes to garden fencing and kitchen work tops - suggest human prescience and endeavour, reflecting the experience of architecture and space; hierarchy, opposition, separation, connection, transition and assimilation.

The composition of colours and painted surfaces define figure/ground relationships within the work and convey materiality, physical and cultural context, symbolism and emotional response. The role of colour is also an organisational element and a device used in many architectural schools to engender an environment for creative learning. Houlding’s landscapes are, however, people free, yet suggest an inherent optimism and sublime future.

 

^{Above Matthew Houlding, NKB Bearings, 2009. Courtesy of Ceri Hand Gallery
Below Matthew Houlding, NKB Bearings, 2009, Mixed media, 61 x 65 x 29 cm}

^{Below: installation shots courtesy Nigel Green}