Rob Matthews, The Card Player

Rob Matthews

The Card Player

Archival pigment print on Canson Infinity Edition Etching Rag

Price range: $600 through $1,045

The Card Player was originally created by Matthews using acrylic and gouache on canvas. This Archival Pigment Print features a detailed reproduction of the original painting, capturing each meticulous paint stroke and subtle tonal shift.

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Year
2019
Edition of
50
Dimensions
30 x 22 1/2 inches
Authentication

Signed and numbered by the artist. All Haystack editions come with a Certificate of Authenticity.

“This painting was created in concert with a few others to reflect on issues of occupation and power. The face is that of Mark Sykes, one of the negotiators of the Sykes-Picot agreement. Depicting him as a card player positions him as strategic, but his success or failure hinges on gambling and blind luck.”

– Tess Davies

About the Artwork

The Card Player was originally created by Matthews using acrylic and gouache on canvas. This Archival Pigment Print features a detailed reproduction of the original painting, capturing each meticulous paint stroke and subtle tonal shift.

The Card Player was printed by G.Moulin Limited Editions. Each Archival Pigment Print was digitally printed with a lab-calibrated inkjet printer using pigment-based inks (this process is also known as Giclée printing). The 100% cotton paper has a smooth texture and the purest natural white tone available, allowing for every visual subtlety and tonal transition in the artwork to be reproduced at the highest quality. 

Curator's Note

Painter Rob Matthews combines two historical art movements in his artwork; Northern Renaissance portraiture and Cubism. These disparate movements, (from the 15th and 20th centuries, respectively) manipulate the viewer’s perspective by bringing the background forward, and creating multiple viewpoints.

This flatness supplies ample ground for the geometric abstraction that Matthews imposes on the central figure. In The Card Player, Matthews was reflecting on issues of occupation and power.  

About the Artist

Rob Matthews (b.1974, Wilson, NC) is a superbly technical artist whose subjects are laden with narratives often drawn from historical events and figures. The formal qualities of his work are steeped in history as well – his expert linework and attention to detail illustrate his interest in centuries-old  traditional drawing practices.

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