PEDRO MATOS || Building Castles Made of Sand

Building Castles Made of Sand

Opening reception: Friday, May 17th, 2013 from 6 to 9pm
May 17 – June 15, 2013

Martha Otero Gallery is pleased to present Pedro Matos' first exhibition in Los
Angeles, Building Castles Made of Sand featuring a new series of oil paintings on
canvas and azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted,
tin-glazed, ceramic tile work.

Pedro Matos’ paintings feature a rich and complex layering consisting of
different languages of communication, which combine texture, patterns,
realistic figurative painting, new media, digital and text references. His work
draws the viewer into a dialog surrounding the impermanence of social and
cultural values.

The use of traditional mediums to create an aesthetic of decay and
ephemerality, together with a survey of subjects and references throughout the
history until the contemporary society, tries to raise questions of subjectivity,
arbitraries, and ephemerality in our value structure and cultural and social
epistemology.

Pedro Matos was born in Santarém, Portugal in 1989. He studied Painting and Art
& Heritage Science at the Faculty of Fine Art - University of Lisbon and Ar.Co Art
Centre Lisbon before moving to London where he studied at Central St. Martins
College of Art and Design and where he currently works and lives. His work has
been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including The University of
Arizona Museum of Art, Philips de Pury, Goss-Michael Foundation, White Walls
Gallery and Ivory & Black Soho. Pedro has also given seminars and lectures in
Portugal, and worked as a curator in cities such as London, Lisbon, Miami and
Atlanta.

For further information please contact the gallery at 323 951 1068 or visit our
website www.marthaotero.com

Warrior Saints: Four Centuries of Sikh Military History Vol.1- Pedro Matos and the Sikh Warrior from GT1588 on Vimeo.