Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

Modern Eden Gallery presents Golden, an art show inspired by gold and featuring works that go beyond the mere material application to embody the cultural and historical implications of what is ‘golden’.

Throughout history—from the gilded palaces and monuments of the ancient world to the golden Baroque-style halls of Versailles—gold has been used to symbolize power, wealth, and prosperity. The lust for gold has inspired centuries of westward migration in search of lost cities of gold, roads paved with gold, and river valleys full of gold. Artists and craftsmen have used gold for thousands of years to engender status and to decorate gods and noblemen alike. Today in popular culture, gold is still a symbol used to represent the fabulous and fancy.

Matthew Robertson was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from the Academy of Art University in 2012 with a BFA in illustration. He currently lives and works in Berkeley, California. Robertson’s technical oil paintings are simultaneously chaotic and controlled as he masterfully weaves the two components into one canvas to intuitively explore the tenuous balance between real and abstract forms. The new series vibrates with a sense of innocence described by bold colors, geometric forms, and spontaneous lines which merge together harmoniously with an expert sense of realism,  to create a body of work that is both nostalgic and contemporary.