In the business spreading an artistic empire

Jun 29 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

THE Art Works gallery has allowed many of the region's aspiring North East artists to reach a wider public. Christopher Knox caught up with its director Matt Forster, a painter with an entrepreneurial streak.

This decision to break away from the North East turned out to be pivotal to Matt’s career and he returned to the UK in 2003 to set up the original Art Works gallery opposite the former Manors Cinema site, which is now home to Northumbria University’s City Campus East.

He says: “It was all my work in there and it was selling very well. It was then that I really realised the potential of what I was doing and that these paintings could be sold internationally as part of a successful business.”

It was in 2006 that Foster moved to the nearby Ouseburn Valley and into a former Tyne Tees TV building, which he and Nicolette converted into a slick gallery selling and exhibiting affordable contemporary art from a range of local and international artists.

Although the gallery offers a window into the talents of local artists, Forster is keen to stress that much of it is built upon the foundations of his own output, a business model which he is aware cannot be sustained for ever.

He is now urging the Newcastle City Council to help turn the gallery into a not-for-profit community interest company so that investors feel more comfortable with investing in its long term future. “The fact is that beyond moving into the building, we have had no assistance from the council to develop it over the years,” Forster says. “As a result, much of what you see comes from the sale of my own work.

“It’s not that I resent the fact, it’s just that I don’t believe that a place that attracts people into the area and hosts a number of corporate events and open evenings should mostly be the responsibility of one person.

“The simple fact of the matter is that this gallery has hit a ceiling and has gone as far as it can in the way it is presently run. It is a fantastic space and now needs more support from outside if it is to go on to even greater things.

“The gallery also provides excellent apprenticeship opportunities to budding artists based in the North East, which should be something which is encouraged through external funding.”

He is also keen to develop his own brand as a stand-alone artist and recently set up separate company Überpainting after his bolder approach to watercolours came to a head.

“After years of honing my skills I realised that this style of painting was really starting to come through,” he said. “It’s a very deceiving style as at first glance the paintings look simple to produce.

“However, they can take days and weeks in the planning, with many sketched versions of the completed piece to be done before I can put paint to canvas.”