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Matthew Midwood paints and draws familiar things either from life or from his visual memory, objects of interest, places, spaces, buildings and people. His style is characterised by confident marks/brushstrokes coupled with a strong sense of colour and form, trusting that intuitive decisions are key to revealing truth and achieving a ‘rightness’ in the work. 

A successful piece of work is honest about the process, captures how he is seeing as much as what the thing looks like and is sympathetic to what the viewer might bring to it.  Whether the artwork is figurative or abstract, what he strives for is something that looks real rather than just representation.  In essence, he likes colour and loves drawing.

He lives in Hull, makes work in his studio and has been an active member of the artistic community in Hull since 2002.

In 2010, with grant support from Arts Council England, he and other Kingston Art Group (KAG) members set up KAG Gallery on Humber Street (in Hull) to run as an exhibition space for KAG members, running monthly shows for 8 years. He co-curated the space from 2015, with Jayne Jones and Anna Bean, as well as project managing the Hull City of Culture programme for KAG.

Jayne Jones, Anna Bean and Matthew outside KAG Gallery in 2017

Exhibitions

2007 : Ferens Open Exhibition : Ferens Art Gallery, Hull

2008 : Men’s Work : Artlink, Hull

2009 : KAG 20th Anniversary Group Show : Artlink, Hull

2009 : Ferens Open Exhibition : Ferens Art Gallery, Hull

2009 : Mark Making : Artlink Hull

2010 : Ferens Open Exhibition : Ferens Art Gallery, Hull

2011 – 2016 : KAG Group Show : Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull

2012 : Ferens Open Exhibition : Ferens Art Gallery, Hull

2013 : Ferens Open Exhibition : Ferens Art Gallery, Hull

2013 : Work (Solo Show) : Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull

2015 : Stagefright : Flemingate, Beverley                            

2016 : Wet Paint : Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull

2017 : Constructive Criticism : Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull

2018 : Stendhal Syndrome : Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull

2018 : KAG Group Show : University of Hull

2019 : Sense of Place : Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield

2021 : SHH : Pop-up space, Humber Street, Hull

2024 : Re-View : Hull Artist Research Initiative, Hull