Matthew Quick

My work blends Renaissance-inspired realism with surrealist twists,
exploring cerebral themes through irony and wit.
Inspired by the most banal yet inexplicably popular social media
hashtags, in my award-winning series, Five Minutes To Famous, I
explore both the absurdity of modern life and our obsession with
curated digital personas by reimagining classical stone figures;
modifying their traditional poses with contemporary iconography.
These sculptural muses parody our relentless drive to document an
idealized life while often missing the essence of carpe diem.
I aim to create work that resonates beyond the individual, offering
a universal reflection on our digitally driven world. Balancing
humour with social commentary, my art invites viewers to laugh,
reflect, and reconsider their own online façades. By merging art
history with modern absurdity, I hope to engage audiences in an
introspective experience that is both visually striking and
conceptually thought-provoking.

Matthew always painted but managed to distract himself with a few
alternative careers. He’s worked as a designer, art-director, lecturer &
writer, with his first novel short-listed for the Vogel Literature Award.
He’s lived in Australia, Europe and Asia, including several months
encamped beneath a grand piano. He’s spent nights under stars in

India, under-ground in Bolivia, under surveillance in Burma and under-
nourished in London. His scariest moment was having machine-gun

shoved in his face during Nepalese anti-monarchy riots, although
crashing a paraglider into a forest was also something of a highlight.
Featured in BRW as one the country’s top 50 artists and latterly in both
of the top 100 Artists list of “Who’s Hot and Collectable in Australian
Art, in the past few years Matthew has won, or been a finalist, in over
90 juried art awards. He’s had 16 solo and more than 100 group shows.