Mathew Nagendran
As a contemporary figurative artist, my work centers on the complexity of human expression, centring both physical manifestations, as well as emotive states. By emphasizing tensions, for example, between beauty and pain, warmth and loneliness, futurity and nostalgia, I hope to highlight the challenges and triumphs of being human.
For this exhibition, focusing on red pigments, I decided to explore hue and chroma relationships through the portrait of a warmly lit model. By highlighting one warm and one cool red on my palette, namely, Tri-Art’s Cadmium Red Medium Hue and Permanent Alizarin, I was able to achieve depth and dimension by taking advantage of how the warmly lit areas of the face are perceived to advance towards the viewer, while the cool shadows recede.
Auburn
Oil on wood panel, 11” x 14” $400
Mathew Nagendran (b.1991) is a visual artist originally from Toronto, ON. He received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the University of Toronto in 2014, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Queen’s University in 2016. Now focusing fully on his artistic pursuits, he maintains a studio practice in Katarokwi/Kingston. Notably, Mathew’s work has been featured in Free Lit Magazine, and he has exhibited with Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, Art Noise Gallery, Window Art Gallery Kingston, and The Union Gallery.