An ode to the joy of colour
By Regina Haggo
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 12, 2006)

A passion for colour drives Matthew Varey's creativity. In Lamentation, his latest exhibition at the Transit Gallery, Varey's love of colour gets a boost from an old classic.

"I realized that within pure colour was a beauty and poignancy," says the Hamilton native, who has been exhibiting locally and internationally for more than 10 years.

His colour arrangements are highly abstracted and animated. But there's more than colour in Varey's paintings. He also loads up on exquisite patterns which add textural interest.

Some of his earlier paintings were inspired by topography. Strong colour and patterns, both taken from nature, were very much in evidence. Lately, his compositions have much to do with his method. He mixes pigment with urethane, pours the mixture on canvas and lets it dry. This process gives him a hard, wonderfully patterned surface which is also reflective.

For this exhibition, Varey continues to experiment with his contemporary technique, but he was also inspired by a painting from the distant past. He started with the Lamentation scene from Giotto's early 14th-century cycle of wall paintings in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua , Italy . Giotto depicts the Virgin Mary and a group of followers mourning the dead Christ after he has been taken down from the cross.

The two-metre-high painting is characterized by solid human forms, a simplified setting and large areas of colour. Varey abstracted the scene to its basic shapes and colours and created a series of paintings based on them.

Halo of Saint, Giotto Blueprint 06, for instance, comes close to a halo. A shimmery yellow-gold dominates Varey's painting and gives off a strong sense of light, the way a halo might.

The highly animated surface contains areas of smooth paint that compete for attention with smaller circles and ovals which are more textured. Each one resembles a cluster of seeds, cells or tiny beads. And their shapes are reminiscent of halos, so this detail of a halo contains lots of little halos.

Some of the circles near the top are more painterly, their soft edges making them appear to be forming or disappearing. Circular forms near the bottom boast sharper outlines and therefore contrast with the softer edged ones.

Blues and greens enliven Folds of the Virgin, Giotto Blueprint 06. Clusters of tiny circles make the surface vibrant and complex. The reflective quality, most evident in this large work, makes the colours look as though they change with the light, adding to the painting's dynamism. The surface also reflects the viewer, thus encouraging us to participate in the painting.

In Heavens One, Giotto Blueprint 06, paler greens and blues play off one another. Gatherings of small circular shapes at the bottom of the composition contrast with a more spacious arrangement at the top.

And while Varey is inspired by a detail in Giotto's Lamentation, his composition also echoes the arrangement of Giotto's whole painting. Giotto, too, clusters more figures at the bottom of the scene, then makes sure some of their gestures are directed upward to the angels who inhabit more spacious surroundings.

But Varey's pieces are not rooted that firmly in the past. For one thing, his glossy surfaces are decidedly hard, brash and modern when compared to Giotto's gentler matt surfaces. Varey's paint evokes cars, not old-fashioned religious frescoes.

And there is little of the lamentation in Varey's series. His work is nothing short of an ode to the joy of colour.