Matt Bahen | As Though It Were of Some Other Order

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Matt Bahen, "The Prophesy," 2021

oil on canvas, 78" x 108". Courtesy of the Gallery.

Using the literary device of the enchanted forest Bahen constructs landscape paintings by collaging multiple disparate images of landscapes together.

Inspired by science fiction/ speculative fiction specifically, the work of Jeff Vandermeer and his Southern Reach Trilogy, as well as Hayao Miyazaki films such as Princess Monoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Thinking about landscape painting as a subject caused Bahen to consider what makes landscape painting relevant today. One of the conclusions he arrived at is that it is impossible to look at landscape painting today without considering the issue of climate change. 

Utilizing literary tropes and devices as a genesis seed in which to construct the paintings allows the conceptual conceit hum in the background of the works.

As science fiction books foreground fun adventure stories  that engage the reader, Bahen creates canvases that are primarily concerned with creating an engaging image that is visually satisfying.

The use of heavy impastoed paint in Bahens work is also  conceptually intentional. It is applied evenly all over the canvas creating a sense of tension by giving the eye nowhere to rest. It also signals to the viewer that the painting is to be read like a painting, since the works are representational and share a relationship to photography, where photography is tethered still to the idea of journalistic truth, paintings were allegorical.

The flowers are a recurring motif in this body of work. They are created using the same collaging technique as the landscapes, using multiple types of plants to create the image. They are inspired by the flora in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, that are beautiful yet shed a dangerous pollen. In the paintings they are meant to act as “the figure” in the work and provide a sense of the uncanny.

Matt Bahen was born in 1979 and raised in Schomberg Ontario. He recieved his BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2002. In 2013, his solo exhibition, Gravity’s Faith, was held at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie Ontario.  His latest public exhibition, 'There is Something Happening in the Valley' was held at Glenhyrst Art Gallery in Ontario this past summer.  Bahen is represented in Edmonton, Toronto and New York.