Oswald Matro
For Oswald Matro, the act of painting is a dream log of sorts through which the artist
deciphers his own reflections on contemporary West African societies. A tale weaved by the threads of history, traditions and the identity Inherent to his native Benin.
Referencing traditional iconographic painting, Matro's compositions balance colour and perspective with great fluidity, by a way of a technique that shatters most expectations regarding this particular medium and elevate the act of creation to a holistic paradigm.
Thus each canvas becomes stage to a whirling display of visual effects, heightened by a brilliant use of both synthetic and organic components. Acrylic, oil pastel, spray paint, siphoned sand and plaster, are layered in, using a brush, a palette knife or simply fingers, before being scraped off, as if to emphasise the hidden meaning of the work and reinforce its presence within a three-dimensional space.
Deceptively naive yet whimsical, the paintings by Oswald Matro often cross pollinate both Christian and Animist spiritual ideologies. By way of a uniquely idiosyncratic visual narrative, the artist brings into play varying viewpoints scoping human interrelationships and familial conflicts within both social and geopolitical contexts.
Ultimately, for Oswald Matro, Art is a means to rise above the existential conundrums of our lives by opening new portals of dialogues between the past and the future, between the realms of the seen and that of the unseen, toiling incessantly at the intersection of dream and reality.
The Road To Enlightenment | Le Chemin de l'Élévation
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The Road To Enlightenment | Le Chemin de l'Élévation
Holy War | Guerre Sainte
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Holy War | Guerre Sainte
Tribulations | Les Aléas
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Tribulations | Les Aléas
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