Grace Mattingly

Grace Mattingly’s practice centres on an exploration of pleasure. Her work is an unique investigation of the push and pull of the historical vs the contemporary and childhood innocence vs adult self-discovery. The artist’s self-consciously naive style presents a dichotomy with her exploration of erotic fantasy. Mattingly’s nude figures, most often depicted in high heels, are charged with an eroticism that is only highlighted when paired with snakes and clutching limbs. 

Through a distinct use of colour and form, the artist creates transcendental environments for her subjects. Mattingly’s palette concentrates on sugary tones of orange, yellow and pink, creating a space of sunlit, rosy warmth. Composed of gestural, confident lines, Mattingly’s paintings evoke a fluidity which the artist seeks to explore through subject matter and form. 

London-based Grace Mattingly, born 1991, received a BA from Columbia University in 2014 before completing her MA in painting at The Slade School of Fine Art in 2021. Mattingly’s work has been featured in publications such as Art Maze Magazine and is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields grant and was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize in 2019. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Chicago and New York.