Mat Collishaw. Albion: Personal Exhibition

Collishaw frequently draws on the visual language of the old masters. Many of his works reference historical narratives and employ classical approaches to rendering nature, filtered through the cultural aesthetics of past eras. These appropriated images are digitally reprocessed and recontextualized, advancing his ongoing inquiry into the interplay between representation and reality.

Collishaw’s sustained interest in the Victorian era is deliberate. Nineteenth-century Britain presented itself as a beacon of scientific rationalism and empirical rigor. In referencing this period, Collishaw both emulates its ornate, romantic aesthetics and exposes its darker underside—where human nature, with all its primal impulses, remains constant regardless of technological or cultural progress. He also engages with early Victorian visual technologies, such as pre-cinematic devices and photographic innovations, which he uses to recreate the illusionistic effects at the foundation of modern animation.

“My desire is to show the viewer how the time in which we live affects our perception of the world around us. These days, it’s difficult to slow down and absorb imagery of the past. Over time, our perception of paintings changes, not only because they become iconic, but because the media around us has totally changed. We don’t generally stand around looking at a picture that’s not moving, because it’s not that interesting compared to what else is on offer. I’m trying to reintroduce the concept of time to these works, to prompt the viewer to look at each of them a little longer and thus immerse themselves in the history of each picture.”

– Mat Collishaw

Collishaw’s work has been exhibited in major museums and public collections worldwide, including Tate Modern (London, UK); Somerset House (London, UK); Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (UK); Galleria Borghese (Rome, Italy); Pino Pascali Museum Foundation (Bari, Italy); Bass Museum of Art (Miami, USA); Freud Museum (London, UK); Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Bologna, Italy); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville (Paris, France); Brooklyn Museum (New York, USA); Museo di Roma (Rome, Italy); Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain); Arter Foundation (Istanbul, Turkey); British Council Collection (London, UK); Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, France); Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna (Turin, Italy); Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego, USA); the Olbricht Collection (Berlin, Germany); and MONA – Museum of Old and New Art (Hobart, Australia).