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Photo by: Thomas Matthews

Despite being an English illustrator, and living and working in Cambridge, Thomas Matthews has a fascination with the American suburbs. His interest doesn't stem from a scarringly dull trip there as a child, but from characters in John Cheever and Raymond Carver stories and the prolonged anxious purgatory they live in. 

Matthews' figures aren't far off from the middle-aged protagonists of American literary classics: they're presented at a moment of crisis. But, in broader terms, Matthews' minimal drawings and paintings focus on the banal. His simple composition allows things like subtle textures and strong colors to deliver the dismal personalities he's illustrating. The images are far from miserable; however, there's always a touch of black humor as well.  

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