Matthias van Arkel (b.1967) since 2003, Matthias has consistently worked with silicone rubber. He has gradually refined his technique of producing "paintings" with the silicone. The result is often surprisingly lyrical. But the material has also taken him beyond what can be achieved with oil paint on canvas.
An encounter with van Arkel's powerful silicone reliefs often becomes something of a physical experience, so amazing can the glossy silicone be experienced. The works are very attractive, but can immediately make the viewer more ambivalent, depending on the associations that the silicone rubber evokes.
