Trying to get a biography out of Mat Black is not the easiest of jobs we have ever had. Due to the nature of street art it can be understandable that an artist does not want to give out too much indentifying information.
As Mat Black moves from the streets into the galleries he is starting to be a bit more open about his life and his art. A submersive tag artist from the eighties he has mainly been known in the suburbs between West London and Reading.
He doesn't describe himself as an artist but as a image manipulator and producer, as well as this he is known thoughout club land in both England and Aisa, going under another psydoneum. Having said this over the years he has gone under numerous guises, changing his style as well as his name as styles and police tatics changed over the years.
His styles today are mainly wheatpasting and stenciling, and he is one artist that has embraced the new tools of today including digital illustration and giclee printing. On this subject he was very open in saying the following in his last interview.
"Screen printing as a medium is dying, it has become limited on the levels of colours. Why would an artist want to limit himself to say 16 colours, when we can now produce quality art in unlimited colours. With large format printing, i can have an idea, produce it immeadiatly and have it on the wall the same afternoon.
Art collectors do need to change their views on Giclee's. It has opened up this area, where an artist can produce original prints, rather than being stuck in the situation where they have to get a certain number of prints made at the screen printers. Ask yourself, what would you rather have, an artists original, or part of a large print run?"
Mat Black is currently back in the UK, and has plans for an exhibition in London later on this year.
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