Wielding but a pen, ink and some coloured pencils, Matt Coyle navigates through the abject chaos and filth of this world to reveal the beauty within. Exploring the dichotomy of light and dark, line and form, his meticulous drawings transport the viewer to a hyper-real world in which something much more sinister is happening beneath the veil.

Over the past decade, Coyle has held regular solo and group exhibitions across Australia, as well as international shows at spaces such as Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong (2013) and Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland (2010). He has also participated in the 2014, 2012 and 2010 editions of the Melbourne Art Fair and the 2011 Korea International Art Fair (KIAF). In 2009, Coyle was invited to participate in Chicago’s NEXT – The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, a showcase of global, cutting-edge talent, and he is currently a finalist in the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing for his micro-hallucinatory drawing The Good Room.

Coyle has also published two graphic novels: Worry Doll (2007, Mam Tor, UK), “an inspired piece of gothic noir disguised as a children’s book,” and Registry of Death (1996, Kitchen Sink Press, USA). His 2007-2008 series Worry Doll was acquired by the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane and displayed as part of Recent Acquisitions – Australian, International and Asian and Pacific Collections (2008).

Works by Coyle are also held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

• From Next… To Next…
• Matt Coyle – The Shades: New Drawings and Prints
• Melbourne Art Fair 2010
• Korean International Art Fair
• Matt Coyle – From Earth
• Melbourne Art Fair 2012
• Matt Coyle – Warm Blooded Playthings
• Melbourne Art Fair 2014
• Goodbye 2015

Matt Coyle was born in 1971 and grew up in Canberra. He lives and works in Hobart, Tasmania.

.EDUCATION

1991    Sydney College of the Arts, Painting

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016
Take Me Back To Sleep, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne

2015
The Good Room, Michael Reid, Sydney
Endling, Bett Gallery, Hobart

2014
Warm Blooded Playthings, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne

2013
Hive, Penny Contemporary, Hobart

2012
From Earth, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne
You and Me Day, James Dorahy Project Space, Sydney

2011
Worry Doll, Ink & Pixel: Post year 10 Librarian Conference, Launceston

2010
The Shades: New Drawings and Prints, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne
The Shades 1 – 8, Prints and New Drawings, Criterion Gallery, Hobart

2009
The Silent Drama, Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney
Worry Doll @ Willow Court, Ten Days on the Island

2008
Night Stills, Anna Pappas Gallery (ex-Über Gallery), Melbourne

2007
Worry Doll, Criterion Gallery, Hobart
Worry Doll, Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2016
Art-Athina, Athens, Anna Pappas Gallery

2014
Melbourne Art Fair, Anna Pappas Gallery

2013
Wonderworks, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong

2012
Melbourne Art Fair, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne
Things that go bump in the night, Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre, Dandenong
Hello Dollies, Penrith Regional Gallery, Sydney

2011
Korean International Art Fair (KIAF11), Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne

2010
Melbourne Art Fair, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne
Scrutiny, Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland
Group Action 5, Criterion Gallery, Hobart

2009
Horror, Come Darkness, Macquarie University Art Gallery
NEXT Art Fair Chicago, The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, Anna Pappas Gallery (ex-Über Gallery)
Group Action 4, Criterion Gallery, Hobart

2008
Ecchymosis, Criterion Gallery, Hobart
Recent Acquisitions – Australian, International and Asian and Pacific
Collections, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Art Gallery
Hong Kong International Art Fair (ARTHK08), Anna Pappas Gallery (ex-Über Gallery)

2007
I Am Afraid, Anna Pappas Gallery (ex-Über Gallery), Melbourne
Fine, Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland

AWARDS & RESIDENCIES

2016        Finalist Sunshine Coast Art Prize
2016        Finalist National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula
2016        Finalist Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
2015        Finalist City of Hobart Art Prize – Highly Commended
2012        Finalist Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award
2012        Arts Tasmania Grant for Individuals
2011        Finalist Hutchins Art Prize
2011        Finalist Sunshine Coast Art Prize
2010        Finalist Dobell Prize for Drawing
2010        Finalist Paul Guest Art Prize
2009        Finalist Hutchins Art Prize
2009        Finalist City of Hobart Art Prize
2008        Finalist  Stan & Maureen Duke Gold Coast Art Prize
2008        Finalist Sunshine Coast Art Prize
2008        Shortlisted Ripe: Art & Australia/ ANZ Private Bank Contemporary Art Award
2008        Shortlisted London International Creative Competition
2007        Rue Morgue Magazine (Canada) Best Graphic Novel/Comic Artist 2007 (for Worry Doll)
2006        Arts Tasmania Grant, Exhibition at Damien Minton Gallery

COLLECTIONS

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art and Australia
Queensland Art Gallery/ Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA

2016
Worry Doll published by Dover Publications, USA

2010
Matt Coyle: Works 2009 -2010, Anna Pappas Gallery
Imprint Winter 2010 Melbourne Art Fair
Art & Australia Vol 47/3 Artist Pages The Shades
What’s On this Quarter, Australian Art Collector

2009
Open Gallery, Sydney Morning Herald
Sunday Arts, ABC TV Arist Profile 12^th July
Art & Australia Vol 47/2 Artist Pages The Shades
Art Monthly, Ten Days on the Island review

2008
Artlines, Queensland Art Gallery magazine, Issue 3

2007
Worry Doll, Mam Tor Publishing
Reviewed Rue Morgue Magazine (Canada) September
Radio National Artworks, interview
Interviewed on Stateline, ABC TV, Hobart
Sebastian Smee, rEVIEW, Telegraph UK

1996
Registry of Death, Kitchen Sink Press