Pre-Pandemic
Matthew Bacher uses methods of painting and performance to consider relationships between humans, nature, and technology. Works contain large gestural brushstrokes of fully saturated color. The color palette and saturation are reminiscent of colors used by the Fauvists. Bacher’s work also has aesthetic ties to German Expressionism, which emphasizes distortion and abstraction to convey emotion. The effect is a dynamic and theatrical staging of characters within immersive environments. In Bacher’s work the canvas acts as a framed space for energetic competition. This competition parallels that which can be witnessed in nature. The works are created as ecosystems where bits of information compete, where refined and subtle shapes get covered over by larger blocks of color. The work is situated in the representative and historic playing with ideological romanticising of nature and it's simultaneous fetishism.