Matthew Shaun Ferguson: Sonder

Matthew Shaun Ferguson, Stress (Neck Muscle Study), 2024, Watercolour on watercolour paper, 12″ x 18″

Sonder

September 13 – 30, 2024
Closing Reception: September 27, 2024, 7pm ET
Spare Room Artist Studios and Gallery, Barrie

Sonder: “The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own” (John Koenig)

In his first solo exhibition, Sonder, Barrie-based, emerging artist, Matthew Shaun Ferguson showcases a series of watercolour paintings that explore materiality, personal injury, and the relationship between form and function.

Through the series, Ferguson conceptually breaks-down parts of the human body to their basic functions and parallels the organic structures therein with artificial materials in order to reimagine bodily form. By combining 3D modeling with traditional watercolour painting, he creates mechanical/synthetic versions of his corporeal subjects and renders them with an emphasis on realistic textures and dramatic lighting. Because life cannot exist without some form of a vessel, Ferguson’s use and exploration of the body is an attempt at utilizing subject matter with an almost universal quality; likewise, by rendering synthetic materials into the organic configurations of the body, Ferguson alludes to the fact that all people are made of the same fundamental components and require the same basic needs.

Matthew Shaun Ferguson, Mechanical Hand 2, 2024, Watercolour on watercolour paper, 9″ x 12″

The concept behind the body of work stems from an injury to Ferguson’s dominant hand that threatened his ability to create art. Though his hand has healed almost completely, the fear of dysfunction and potential paralysis caused him to consider the inner-workings of the human body for their machine-like qualities and shifted the focus of his artistic practice to exploring this idea.

Sonder is made possible through a Concept to Realization Project Grant generously funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, and through support from the Ontario Arts Council, Spare Room Artist Studios and Gallery, the MacLaren Arts Centre, and the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre.

Matthew Shaun Ferguson, Elbow Joint Study, 2023, Watercolour on watercolour paper, 9″ x 12″

About Matthew Shaun Ferguson

Born in 1988 in Barrie, ON, Canada, Matthew Shaun Ferguson spent his early/adolescent years exploring his passion to create as a self-taught artist; this led him to study at Brock University where he graduated with a BFA in Fine Art. Though his early career was mired by an injured dominant hand, this hurdle only internalized within him a greater understanding for the resilience and reverence required to create art at a professional level.
www.mattferguson.art
matthewshaunferguson@gmail.com
Instagram @f3rg3f3rg

About Spare Room Artist Studios and Gallery

Spare Room is a safe and inclusive studio space for artists in Barrie and Simcoe County to gather and foster artistic collaboration within the local art community. Our gallery welcomes all genders, abilities, cultures and sexualities to participate in workshops, exhibits, and events.

Spare Room Artist Studios and Gallery
12 Lakeshore Mews
Barrie, ON L4M 1A6
spareroombarrie.com
spareroom.artiststudios@gmail.com
Instagram @spareroombarrie

Accessibility: Spare Room Gallery is partially accessible. The entrance is on the ground floor, washrooms are up a set of stairs, and the space has a narrow interior.

Thank you to the sponsors of this exhibition: