Interactions of Color and Texture: Art by Radhika Matthews
Namaskārām, acrylic and silk on linen
Radhika Matthews uses interactions of color and texture to explore the material nature of artworks, and her own ancestry. Radhika’s mixed media works are often composed using fabric from saris that have been worn by women in her family.
UNTITLED #8, acrylic on wood panel
Radhika’s artworks take the form of abstract paintings that, at a closer glance, are made up of not just strokes of vibrant color, but also more subtle, textured patterns. What looks like planes of painted color turn out to be scraps of delicate fabric, stuck to the canvas over layers of acrylic paint. I really enjoy this technique, as it adds an element of surprise to the painting and keeps the viewer enthralled.
In our last feature of Radhika Matthew’s work we also discussed the nature of the painted marks on the artist’s canvases, and the way they look to be created with instruments besides a simple brush. The surprising nature of the artist’s process means her finished canvases become objects in their own right, celebrating the patterns and moods attached to beloved garments.
