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RESIDENTS JOURNAL
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Taking his cue from great artists including Moore,
Hepworth, Deacon and Schwitters, Matthew Shaws
passion has taken him round the world, collecting
inspiration for his work. I spent time at an art
school in Cyprus as well as a stone carving village
in Zimbabwe, which was where I really developed
my interest in sculpting stone. This passion is
at the root of the work I create now, he tells
me. Exploring different locations and materials
appeals to his hands-on nature; his calling, as he
describes it. Creating works that can be touched
and interacted with has always been important to
me, and nding forms and textures in nature that
encourage this, feed into my work, he explains.
With sculpture, the material often means as
much as the design when it comes to the feel and
nish of a piece. In recent years, I have made a
return to working in stone from Zimbabwe as it
offers such variety in terms of colours, textures and
nish, Matthew elaborates. But I have also started
to explore stone that is available in the UK. Im
beginning to discover how different these stones
are, and how they inuence the nal work in a way
that is like having a conversation with the material.
The juxtaposition of these two types of stone is
THE
SCULPTOR
Matthew Shaw
is a man who
understands both the
natural, and sculpted,
beauty of stone
something that Matthew is incorporating into his
work, creating pieces like The Whispering Couple
in pairs, to highlight the differences between the
two mediums.
Matthews work goes beyond his stone sculptures,
or even the bespoke pieces he designs discerning for
clients, for the last few years he has been devising
and delivering creative workshops, residencies, open
studios and family days at Tate Britain and Tate
Modern, using sculpture and physical art to teach
and encourage young children as part of the BIG
and SMALL lottery-funded programme.
I ask Matthew what hes planning for the future.
I really want to start making larger-scale work and
entering into making pieces for public display, he
replies. Much of my stone sculptures up until now
have been limited in size by what I can personally
lift and move about, but my ambition is to work on
something altogether bigger and more impressive.
You can see Matthews work at the Putney Art Market
on the rst Sunday of every month, or look out for
him at the Wandsworth Artists Open House event in
October. Find out more by calling 07746 694 390 or
visiting matthewshaw.info
Whispering Couple Goddess
Whisper