Abend Gallery is excited to announce “State of Being”, the debut solo exhibition by Matt Talbert, a contemporary figurative artist based in Southern California.

Talbert's primary focus is painting the human figure and the emotions it expresses. “I paint people, but I am more interested in conveying an emotional state, rather than illustrating an outward appearance. I blur the line between our physical reality and the one that is going on in our heads. I look for facial expressions that tell a universal truth about what it is to be human.” Using thick textures and bold colors, this artist combines both traditional and experimental techniques to enhance the emotions at play. Trusting his intuition, embracing spontaneity and doing so with confidence, are the keys to his latest body of work

In Matt’s Denver solo debut, visitors to the exhibit will witness the interplay of brushstrokes—powerful and delicate, colors—vivid and translucent, movement—spontaneous and planned, much like the beautiful and contradicting state of human emotion—constant, yet fleeting. When working on capturing the state of being in his subjects, one of the most important things to Matt is conveying the human element in an honest and genuine way, capturing the model’s essence and personality. He wants to go deeper, to express something meaningful.

If trusting his intuition and embracing spontaneity with confidence are the meaningful themes to his newest body of work, Talbert does so expertly. He makes it a point to embrace accidental marks, and knowingly steps away from the canvas, recognizing that moment in time when his creation has realized itself, without overworking it.

Speaking about his creative process, he shares, “Technical narrative of a painting, (is) when the process is as much a part of the story as the subject being painted.” Skilled at using a wide variety of tools in his artistic toolkit, Talbert adds a hint of experimentation here and there to his primarily traditional painting methods. He starts by laying down color washes, then adding texture via impasto and scraping. He says, “I like painting into this chaos and let the subject emerge from it. Letting these initial layers peek through gives the painting depth.”

Spontaneity in an art form is not an easy thing to achieve. Matt shares that what aided him in the process, is his new philosophy, “No more rules, anything goes, paint your heart out and don’t look back.” This kind of ruthless ability to let go allowed Talbert to push the boundaries of his craft and Abend is excited to share with the visitors this brilliant debut and Talbert’s confident take on relaying the intricacies of human emotion.

Matt Talbert is a contemporary oil painter living in Southern California; he attributes much of his artistic development to his years spent in New York City, working in the basement of the famous Pearl art store on Canal Street and meeting a wide range of artists from all disciplines was indispensable. Both a graduate from the Orange County School of the Arts and the Laguna College of Art and Design, he is now named one of the "Top 100 Figurative Artist Working Now" by Poets Artists Magazine. Talbert has exhibited in galleries such as Arcadia Contemporary in Los Angeles and the Salmagundi Club in New York and his work can also be seen in recent issues of American Art Collector and International Artist.