Sep 16, 20231 min read

Creative Matters with Matthew Browne

Matthew Browne is an abstract painter living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Born in London UK, he relocated to New Zealand in 1991.

Matthew's striking geometric paintings feature sharp lines with bold, experimental colour palettes. His process starts in exploring formal relationships in colour and form and develops greater complexity as the work progresses. He has been making and showing paintings and sculptures for more than 40 years.

After many years of teaching visual arts in both the community and tertiary sectors, Matthew founded his very own art school Browne School of Art in 2013.

We have a wonderful chat and I Ioved welcoming Matthew into my studio at Muriwai. Matthew talks about how he wants to make paintings that have an untroubled aspect to them in response to the crazy cacophony of everyday life, and for people to feel a moment of solace when viewing and experiencing his work. He shares how his work and process shifted from more figurative, externally motivated paintings over the years to abstract and more internally driven expressions.

We discuss his yearning for a sense of balance, order and stillness which comes about in his current paintings through the relationships of colour. He uncovers the mysteries behind his painting titles, shares his painting process and has some fantastic advice for artists young and old.

And of course we talk about how and why he founded Brown School of Art in inner city Auckland.