By Emma Sun
BELGRAVE artist Matthew Rutten’s silk art will be on display at the Mount Evelyn Exhibition Space.
Mr Rutten, who has been a passionate artist since attending primary school, experimented with silk painting when he attended the College of Textiles more than 20 years ago.
“I did things like tapestry and design but my main focus was on silk painting,” he said.
He said he particularly enjoyed it because of the way the paint settled into the fabric.
“I really like the fact that painting on silk makes the colours more vibrant – it becomes more colourful.”
He travelled to Alice Springs five years ago where he met with various Aboriginal artists and learned about Aboriginal art, which inspired his works of today.
Mr Rutten’s favourite piece of work is a painting called the Brown Essence, which took about four hours for him to paint.
“There’s a process to silk painting, you have draw on the silk with wax and then make sure it is completely dry before applying the colour, so that it doesn’t run,” he said.
With a portfolio of more than 100 artworks, Mr Rutten said he has no intention of stopping.
“I really enjoy silk painting – it’s something I will continue with.”
The exhibition, titled Eternal, features 11 pieces of art. It will be open throughout March. The Exhibition Space is located in the Station House on Wray Crescent.
