Out of the Garden

by Matthew Markum

“My paintings explore disjunctive narratives through a blend of pop-surrealism and modern landscape. I’m drawn to the tension between realism and abstraction—where familiar imagery begins to unravel into dreamlike, fragmented worlds. Using layered paint, collage, and gestural mark-making, I construct compositions that feel both grounded and unstable, reflecting the way memory, media, and emotion overlap in the modern visual landscape. Each piece aims to push past the ordinary and create a space where the viewer can sense both clarity and distortion at once.”