Split
A collection of patterns and op-art paintings by
Matthew Fletcher
April 5 - May 4

Op Art (S/M/L), 48” x 12”, Acrylic latex on panel, 2017

SPLIT is a collection of paintings that explore the bounds of perceptual experience with a focus on precision line work and familiar patterns. Op-Art, a term coined by time magazine in 1964, refers to abstract works that produce the sensation of movement through intricate lines and colors. With Fletcher’s optical works, well-defined stripes become blurry and begin to strobe with enough distance, while his pattern works convey a sense of playful discovery.

The exhibition consists of three types of paintings, optical works, pattern works and color fields. To create his color field paintings, the artist applies infinite divisions of the basic windowpane form, like a fractal, the pattern repeats forever. The closer you look, the more you see the same forms at a smaller scale. 

“I started with four physical panels, and started the repetition in each panel’s composition. Soon I found myself with this elemental arrangement I could not escape: four panels, one a single color over the entire surface, and three divided in half, with the last divided once again.” 

With the optical paintings, each piece has, what he considers, a perfect viewing distance where the work is as large as it can be within the field of vision while still hiding the fact that it is not a perfect object, but a hand-painted artwork with all the accompanying flaws and marks of the process. Fletcher’s pattern works are a more playful series, emulating popular patterns found in fabrics and used as another outlet to express shape, texture and color. 

About the Artist

Raised bi-coastally, Los Angeles born artist, Matthew Fletcher, currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Fletcher received his BFA in Painting from Biola University and MFA from Claremont Graduate School. His work is focused on the study of pattern repetition, meticulous line-work, and the manipulation of visual perception.