Matt Hunt

Matt Hunt was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1967. He is currently based in Wellington. Hunt was trained at Wanganui Quay School of the Arts and qualified with a B.F.A. in 1998. He was given dealer representation by Ray Hughes in Sydney in 2001, then by the Ivan Anthony Gallery in 2003 and with the Peter Mcleavey Gallery in 2007.

Recently Hunt’s artistic practice has primarily been painting, but in the past he has worked with sculpture, video, happenings and music. He was part of the alternative art metal band called Cortina from 1999–2007 with whom he toured throughout Australia, Europe and the U.S.A. His current band is called the ‘Reptilian Future Cops!!!’

Hunt is a foremost painter in the country and his vivid imagery, depicting spiritual visions coupled with biblical and ancient scriptures, conspiracy theories, political ideologies and Sci-Fi themes have become familiar works on the New Zealand painting scene. The rich symbolism and imagery are very personal to Hunt but at the same time absolutely universal. The condition of humanity is at the heart of his work, the concerns, the joy, the utopian dreams through to the nightmarish hells.