Collection: Matthew Stradling

British artist Matthew Stradling paints the human figure with a sensitivity to light, colour and emotion. Skin takes on an almost pearlescent glow, lending his subjects an otherworldly presence. Beneath that radiance, his work explores desire, tenderness and the fragility of life.

Trained at Saint Martin’s School of Art and the University of Reading, Matthew draws inspiration from the Old Masters, mythology and popular culture. His experience as a gay man informs his approach to the figure, questioning familiar ideas about beauty and masculinity. His paintings make space for vulnerable men, powerful women and the many ways a body can express feeling.

The Rainbow Collective’s selection brings together prints of his paintings, where intimate human experiences meet richly imagined worlds. Across the collection, beauty carries an awareness of time passing, and of the people and moments we wish to hold onto.