Matthew Hindley

“… Matthew Hindley seems to be obsessed with the things that we cannot control. From that early work which chronicled the involuntary levels of excitement of its subjects, through to the large sculpture that dominates his latest exhibition displaying a ‘cute’ loss of bodily control, and with many works exploring the inner world of his subconscious, Hindley has managed to use technology as well as traditional media to tell us very sad stories with a wonderful sense of wit, self-doubt and exquisite artistic sense.

For a while considered primarily a new media artist, being one of the earliest practitioners of the now up-and-coming area of physical computing, Hindley has steadfastly maintained his right to work in traditional media, such as drawing, despite some earlier objections to this form from critics, gallerists and even friends. That Hindley was right in doing so is evidenced by the critical success of his recent forays into the realms of painting and sculpture.

Hindley has never limited himself; feeling free to work in fashion, video or whatever else works, in effecting his own brand strategy. Deeply interested in the cult of celebrity, and especially how celebrity comes to haunt those who are celebrated, he uses images taken from trash media as well as internet spam to programme sad but moving works about the famous. Moving from such external functions he now seems to have found a more interesting subject matter: the psychopathology of everyday life. ”

Artthrob_ ArtBio by Andrew Lamprecht - September, 2004

Solo Exhibitions

  • Private Vernissage, Berlin, Germany, with Kromschroeder & Pfannenschmidt (2007)
  • Solo Exhibition, Before My Time, 34LONG, Cape Town November (2006)
  • ‘Speak Naturally & Continuously’, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2005)
  • ‘Abolute Chop’, (Art-Directed by Zwelethu Mthethwa), Mandi’s Butchery and Grill, Gugulethu
  • Untitled, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Oudsthoorn, (2004)
  • ‘Surrender’, Bell Roberts Gallery, Cape Town
  • ‘Infra-Red’, The Michaelis Gallery, Cape Town (2003)

Group Exhibitions

Upcoming May 2008 : Bell7 at Showroom, Berlin, Germany

2008, Fresh Meat, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town

2007, Out of Bounds, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
Face, 34 Long, CT, SA
South African Art, Danubiana Art Museum , Bratislava

2006, Anthology, Everard Reed Gallery, Cape Town
MultiPlus, 34 LONG, Cape Town
Hotel Room Installation, Spier Wine Estate, Stellenbosch

2005, South East, 34 LONG, Cape Town
Mashups (print collaboration with Peter Eastman), 34 LONG, Cape Town
Farrago, Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town
Videobrazil, WWWF Anthology Performance, Brazil
Committee’s choice, Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town
Abolut Finale, Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town
Melrose Art, Obert Contemporary, Johannesburg
SASOL New Signatures, Pretoria
Mooimark, Kunsthalle EXnergasse, Vienna

2004, Art Cool, Bell Roberts Gallery, Cape Town Abolut Secret, Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town Sondela, a Decade of Democracy National Center for African Arts, Boston Show us what you are made of, The Premises, Johannesburg

2003, Picnic, Bell Roberts Gallery, Cape Town On the road again, Engler & Piper Projekte, Berlin MTN New Contemporaries, Museumafrica, Johannesburg Homing In, Albany History Museum, Grahamstown Meeting at the Watercloset, Galerie Puta, Cape Town Mooimark, Market Theatre, Johannesburg Translocations - Internet Broadcast, Walker Art Centre, Minnesota, USA What is life?, The Natural History Museum, Cape Town

2002, In no particular order (vol.1), 16th Recontres Video Art Plastique, Normandy Video, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town

2001, World Wide Video festival, Arti et Amicae, Amsterdam Ydetag, South African National Gallery, Cape Town

2000, Softserve 2, South African National Gallery, Cape Town Channeltoo, Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town Clickhere, Internet based Art Forum Art, London

1999, Softserve, South African National Gallery, Cape Town

Awards

2003
Overall winner, permanent public art installation, South African Gallery, Cape Town

2002
Michaelis prize for top student, UCT, Cape Town
Simon Gershin prize, UCT, Cape Town

1994
Irma Stern prize

Residencies:

2007, June-Sept, Painting Residency, with Kromschroeder & Pfannenschmidt

2003, 24/7, Joburg Art Gallery, South Africa

Represented:
IZIKO South African National GalleryTown
Absolute Chop, Neon outdoor sculpture, Gugulethu, South Africa

Publications:

Matt Hindley at 34Long by Lloyd Pollack
Matt Hindley, Art South Africa, v5i3, 2007, by Lloyd Pollack
Gus SIlber, “Matthew Hindley : Pop Art Renaissance”, BusinessDay, June 2006, p.12
Ernest Beck, “Cape Town : The Postapartheid World”, Art + Auction, June 2006, p. 134
Antionette du Plessis , “Matthew Hindley : Artist on the Cusp”, Vgallery Website Interview, 20 April 2006,
Sean O’Toole ‘In Conversation with Matthew Hindley’ Art South Africa Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer 2005
Andrew Lamprecht, Arthrob Artbio, 2005,
Carine Zaayman ‘Matt Hindley’, Art South Africa Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 2004, p. 71
Murinik, Tracy. ‘Matthew Hindley’, 10 Years 100 Artists, edited by Sophie Perryer, Cape Town Bell-Roberts Publishing in Association with Struik, 2004
Lamprecht, Andrew. Picnic [Catalogue]. Cape Town: Bell-Roberts Publishing, 2003
Murinik, Tracy. ‘Bright Young Things: Matthew Hindley’, Art South Africa Vol. 1, No. 3, Autumn 2003, p. 43
Edmunds, Paul. ‘Matthew Hindley at the Cold Room’, 2002,