Martin Claydon

Sydney based painter, Martin Claydon, was born in England (1989) and emigrated to Australia (2002). Martin has a degree in Fine Art consisting of stints at the See Street Gallery School, Middlesex University, London and the National Art School, Sydney, completing a BFA in painting (2013). His work is held in public and private collections in both England and Australia, including the Sydney Town Hall archive, Lane Cove Council Chambers, Redlands Art Gallery and Metro Gallery, Melbourne. Claydon was awarded the Lloyd Rees Memorial Art Prize (2015), as well as being a finalist in both the Brett Whiteley Traveling Art Scholarship (2018) and the Black Swan Portrait Prize (2018). Through the ancient practise of painting Martin configures the social sphere around his experience. Art and life get connected into brush strokes as subjects and objects are relocated in a network of painted space. The passage of the art object within the sphere is intrinsic to the works materials and meanings. "My current work orientates itself towards creating strong engagements with the viewer. The flourishing that denotes of a genuine experience of connection is increasingly described as a rare encounter in our social landscape, both anecdotally and empirically. My response to this is to enchant through composition, inviting immersion and a strong, resonating felt sense of imbued connection. There are layers within these scenes that reward the viewer by being found and they invite a non-verbal conversation between subject and object. The relational network that extends outside the painting is a fertile substrate to give prominence to. Avery Singer (American) and Jutta Koether (German) are two painters enacting high specificity in this sphere to go beyond a transient responsiveness." “What you want is an experience of making something you haven’t seen before” - Phillip Guston