Falling into Place: Matthew Krishanu in conversation with Julian Bell

This lecture is part of the Spring Term Creative Conversations series; dialogues between artists, curators and writers. Curated by Dr Claudia Tobin, lectures are held Wednesday evenings either at the School or online.

As an independent charity we rely on donations to keep our programmes accessible and open to everyone. If you would like to support our free Lecture Series you can make a donation here.

Matthew Krishanu’s paintings are at once intimate and moving. The scenarios he presents, working typically in spare, thinned oils, have a unique cut-through - at once bristly and humane, quizzical and wonder-filled. Their imagery - drawing on a childhood spent in Bangladesh, where his parents worked for a Christian church - also cuts across boundaries in disorienting ways, addressing at once both European and Asian traditions. Krishanu, now 45 and exhibiting internationally, will discuss the decisions and discriminations that go into this strong model for 2020s figuration, in conversation with the painter and art writer Julian Bell.

Please note this lecture is taking place at the School only and tickets are limited.

Matthew Krishanu is a painter based in London. Recent solo shows include: The Bough Breaks, Camden Art Centre, London (2024); Immerse, Tanya Leighton, LA (2024); On a Limb, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2023); Playground, Niru Ratnam, London (2022); Undercurrents, LGDR, New York (2022); Arrow and Pulpit, Tanya Leighton, Berlin (2021); House of Crows, Matt's Gallery, London (2019); The Sun Never Sets, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, (2019).

Group exhibitions include: Life Is More Important Than Art, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2023); Dhaka Art Summit, Dhaka (2023); Prophecy, Mead Gallery, Coventry (2022); Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London (2021); Coventry Biennial, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum (2021).

Julian Bell was born in 1952. A self-employed painter throughout his adult life, he has worked on pub signs, murals, portraits alongside the narrative, panoramic compositions that have dominated his exhibitions. Since the 1990s, he has also been teaching (Goldsmiths', City & Guilds of London Art School, Camberwell) and writing about art for journals (e.g. London Review of Books). In 1999 Thames & Hudson published his What is Painting? Representation and Modern Art, and in 2007 Mirror of the World: A New History of Art.

Image: Playground, 2020, oil on canvas, 55 x 70, (courtesy of the artist and Niru Ratnam, photo: Peter Mallet) © Artist