Matthew Draper creates portraits of synthetic reminiscence. The works present images of individual carefully
and self-consciously posed, with expressions that are engaging but uncertain, eager to please but not
entirely convinced of their own respective charm. Draper's subjects appear somewhat childlike, wooing the
viewer with their tentative, shy gazes, as if they are about to be introduced to someone's parents. The
glistening studio lit surfaces and high gloss look suggest a photographic basis, but the ultimate source of
these paintings is the imagination of the painter. His "memory lane" is but fictionalized nostalgia, evoked
through these charmingly elusive faces.

Matthew Draper is a graduate of the Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University, and is currently studying at
the Royal Academy in the Post-Graduate Fine Arts program. His work has been included in group shows in
London and New York, most recently in “Toys in the Attic” at Lennon Weinberg in New York. Draper’s first
US solo exhibition will be with Stephanie Theodore at Scope Miami 2004.