Mat Maitland is a London-based visual artist who creates surreal pop collages with enthralling pop and nostalgic flavour.
Mat Maitland’s work manifests an obscured margin between high and low culture that eradicates the traditional barriers that usually remain separated.
His collages are pop, frisky, surreal and dare I say, jaw-dropping. Sometimes, it can be unsettling as well. Engulfing in nostalgia, they much reference the future with his waggish commentaries on contemporary culture.
He is best known for the cover art of Michael Jackson’s posthumous album Xscape. He has definitely carved out a career for himself with a roster of big clients including Kenzo, Jean Paul Gaultier x Kylie Minogue, Louis Vuitton, MAC Cosmetics and others.
Maitland’s artistic inclination is driven by 80’s outrageous glamour and omnipresent cultures. Applying the technique of photomontage, he contrasts images of typical luxury items with mundane everyday objects to highlight the normality.
Besides that, Maitland harnesses his dream imagery into his subversive image-making with a myriad of fantasy and constructed realities. His distinctive approach continues to be rich in references and garishly textured. With such a fabulously decadent style, we are gagging to see what is next.
