Artist in RESIDENCE: Mattia Guarnera-McCarthy
The Sarah Kravitz Residency in London hosted Mattia Guarnera-McCarthy for a period of focused studio development. Working within the city, he develops a body of paintings centred on duality, perception, and the space between image and atmosphere.
The works are defined by a reduced, monochromatic palette dominated by green, a tone that holds both organic and artificial qualities. This colour flattens distinctions between figure and ground, creating a sense of ambiguity. The use of airbrush introduces softened edges and diffused forms, where images appear suspended rather than fixed.
A shift toward portraiture emerges across the series, with figures held in shallow, indeterminate spaces. Foreground and background collapse, producing a sense of liminality where presence and absence remain unresolved.
The work engages themes of masculinity, identity, and control. Gestures, uniforms, and objects carry symbolic weight without resolving into narrative, allowing tension to remain within the image.
Developed during the residency in London, this body of work reflects a period of reduction and experimentation, where material decisions and subject matter converge into a more focused visual language.
