Matt Bryans

Matt Bryans was born in 1977 in Croydon, England and currently lives and works in Norway. Bryans' approach to art-making is intimate and tactile - erasing small sheets of newsprint or whittling wood, working continually and methodically, collecting, examining and repurposing materials which might otherwise be forgotten or discarded. His work requires investment only of time and intention, his materials are made to reveal unforeseen properties and meaning, lifted from a decaying past and transformed with devoted effort into something precious.

Bryans has had solo shows at Kate MacGarry, London (2021); Veveriet, Ålgård, Norway (2020); Treignac Projet, Limousin, France (2017); Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, Norway (2014); Chapter Gallery, Cardiff, UK; SFCamerawork San Francisco, USA (2011); Atlanta Center of Contemporary Art, Atlanta, USA (2006); MMD Museum Dhondt-Dhaenes, Deurle, Belgium (2005); Salon 94, New York, USA (2005).

Bryans’ work has been included in the group exhibitions Auto fictions – Contemporary drawing, Wilhelm-Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany (2018); Manifesta 12, Palazzo Campofranco, Palermo, Italy (2017); Contemporary Drawing Prize, Fondation d’art Contemporain Daniel et Florence Guerlain, Centre Pompidou, Galerie d’Art Graphique, Paris, France (2017); Guerlain Donation, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2013); FlowerCastle, Sculpture Garden Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse, The Netherlands (2013); Stray Alchemists, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China (2008); Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA (2005); Pin-Up: Contemporary Collage and Drawing, Tate Modern, London, UK (2004) amongst others.