Matthew Quick

Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2023 - Finalist

_{[Image courtesy of the artist]}

Matthew Quick | La Presa -Louis Vuitton | 2022 | oil on wood | 65 x 85cm

Artist Statement

Historically power has aways been held in the hands of a few; usually white, usually male.

And to immortalise this power they used art laden with symbolism: robes, jewels, crowns, sceptres - and even stances and hand gestures.

This hyper-masculine past has been inverted. As a symbol of femininity, handbags are clichéd, sure. But publically carrying this accessory is one of the rare times machismo withers.

La Presa; The Grip, defines power: its seizure: its maintenance; its projection. And it’s loss is eponymous with transition of power.

Because the future will not be male, pale and stale.