SNUGGLE UP | MATT JUKES

Tansy Simpson ©

Meet Matt Jukes, whose dreamy abstract original landscapes have the power to transport you to places near and far! As an Artsnug favourite, many of you have already glimpsed Matt Juke’s evocative and ethereal work in our Walthamstow Snug. Matt digs into his own obscured memories in order to explore pattern, colour and texture and take the viewer on a personal journey which encompasses memory, nostalgia and storytelling.

We have been lucky enough to chat with Matt about his creative process and the inspiration behind these serene artworks…

Please tell us a bit about yourself, and the journey you took to become an artist.

Art has always been a part of my life with some of my earliest memories being of me planning paintings. I channelled this planning into a design degree and a career in advertising before focusing back on printmaking, which marked the start of my art practice. I fell in love with a 200-year-old offset Litho press where I bypassed the make plates, preferring to ink bed of the press, and make my marks in that.  During lockdown, I was unable to get into the print studio, so I took to painting, where I use layers and layers of paint ( like with my printmaking ) to create depth of colour and shape.

Jaak London ©

What helped you to get to where you are today?

All of my work is about unearthing mis-remembered memories. I try to capture the emotion of a place instead of a physical representation of a location. So, in a way, all the people and places I've been to across my life have become the experiences that my mind merges together into fuzzy memory-scapes.

What do you hope that your work communicates to the world?

My work is incredibly autobiographical, as I capture memories, through emotions, to create the feeling of a place, instead of a physical representation. I invite the viewer to share those emotions with me but to find their own special place. Showing that even though we will see the world in different ways in our hearts we all feel the same.

What is your ‘Je ne sais quoi’? That special something that makes your artwork unique.

The little magic in my work comes from the depth of colour and tone which gets lost in photographs. but with all of my pieces, the colours will shift and move depending on the angle you are looking at them from.

What was the first piece of art that moved you? What was it about it that grabbed you?

Growing up in Melbourne, I studied modern art through the colour plates in books; I remember Rothko just washing over me. It wasn't until I made it to the Rothko room in the Tate Modern that I understood why people were moved to write books about him. I was fascinated about his use of colour, layering and the textures this produced and how it was able to affect my mood physically.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration starts with a colour, usually a colour which has caught my eye on the way to the studio. From then on my materials guide me towards the end piece.  My biggest advice to anyone going through a dry spell is to paint through it, show up every day, remove your critical eye, and make a mess. Slowly something new will present itself!

Do you have any habits, or a routine, that help you harness your creativity?

It's the structure, which harnesses and focuses my creativity. My routine — a walk to the studio with a podcast on, which gets me thinking about the world and puts me into the right state of mind.

Tansy Simpson ©

How was lockdown, artistically?  Did you find it a challenge, or was it a refreshing change?  Did you create any lockdown-inspired art?  

Lockdown was a gift, and a curse.  I found it impossible to create new memories to draw upon to create my work, but my miss remembered landscapes gave me such a release. Lockdown gave me the confidence to create work which was huge -  working on a pair canvas’ which were 3x 1.5m each.

We've all had time to reflect this year, and to think about how we’d like the ‘new normal’ to look.  What changes would you like to see in the post-COVID art world?  

I would love for time in the new normal to be as flexible as it’s been in lockdown,  with time to create and visit great works of art.

What is your current favourite piece in your own body of work? Why does it hold a special place in your heart?

The latest piece I am working on is always my favourite. Sometimes it is, however, a problematic relationship, as we get to know each other, slowly finding shape and form, but it's still the one that most excites me. So right now my favourite pieces are the vast canvases, which allow me to get lost in colour.

There’s a zombie apocalypse!  You can only take one piece of art to the bunker, but it can be anything in the world.  What do you take? 

I think it would have to be the Seagram murals, the bunker light would be perfect for viewing them, I would never get sick of how they vibrate and move.

What was the latest piece of art that you bought yourself?

The last piece I bought was a “Japanese Gin Bottle” by Jo de Pear as part of the #ArtistSupportPledge. Her cyanotypes inspired me to learn the process myself. 

You have the chance to hop into a time machine and join any historical art movement.  Which do you go back to?  

I’ve always loved the belief in the materials of the Bauhaus, and the precision of the De Stijl, but really it’s the refined beauty of  Russian minimalists which I would love to join.  

Do you have any advice for people just starting their art collection?  

Never buy it just as an investment, for you will never fall in love with the work. Just buy the work you love, which you really love, and you’ll never grow sick of it.  Oh and you’ll always long for the work which you had the chance to buy but didn’t… so just buy it!

Anything else you would like to share with us?

I love colours, which have a real depth to them, so I will quite regularly overprint hundreds of transparent colours to build up a solid colour.

SHOP MATT’S WORK