Artist
A passionate environmentalist, Matthew Kendall is a soulful contemporary sculptor working from a timber-framed, stone-clad studio on a farm in Hampshire, England. His practice is rooted in a deep reverence for and connection with the natural world, with sustainability and conservation at the heart of his work. Exploring themes of transcendence, impermanence and above all interdependence, Matthew often works outside, allowing nature to inform each piece. Timber is selected in person from storm-fallen or diseased trees, predominantly from the South Downs National Park. Working intimately with a variety of chainsaws and chisels, he responds intuitively to the intricacies of each piece in what he describes as a conversation with the tree.
With a background in international humanitarian aid and secondary school philosophy teaching, Matthew began carving out a new career after suffering complex seizures resulting from a childhood brain injury in 2014. Largely wheelchair bound with limited mobility, self-taught, he took on a wide variety of bespoke furniture commissions and quickly earned a reputation as a high-calibre craftsman. His practice gradually shifted from the precision and intricacies of fine joinery to the more fluid crafting of sculpted forms inspired by nature.