Matt Pine is a mixed-media and spray-paint artist born and raised just outside of Toronto, ON. In his youth, Matt struggled with and overcame addiction and alcoholism. Such experiences require some form of emotional outlet, and for Matt, painting is just that; each of his paintings tells a story, whether directly his own or through the eyes of another subject. Matt works predominantly with mixed media, as he finds that it allows him to keep pushing boundaries and exploring new ways of expressing himself. He believes that the experience of art can be swayed by even the little things; as such, every colour and texture found within his paintings represents another layer of emotion that went into creating each work.

Matt’s large-scale goal is to spread his message throughout the world: “There is always beauty to be found in the dark corners of life.” His paintings depict the juxtaposition of beauty and resilience in the face of struggle. Each of Matt’s subjects has faced some form of trauma or life difficulty and overcome it. It is a modern-day reminder not to judge a book by its cover. Matt’s style is heavily influence by his past in tattooing and graffiti. As such, his style can be explained as taking street art, cleaning it up a bit, and bringing it indoors. It is a meeting of raw experience and raw emotion, thoughtfully processed and translated onto the canvas.