The End
Matthew Sleeth

To mark Gertrude Contemporary's final period at 200 Gertrude Street, before the exciting move to Preston South, Melbourne-based artist Matthew Sleeth developed a new work that used the front gallery as its stage.

Viewable only from the street, this work developed over the final five days of Gertrude’s tenancy in Fitzroy. A robotic armature was positioned in the front gallery, and over this period painted the facade window. The work made reference to the absenting of the artist’s hand, as it mechanically painted the window, symbolising the departure of artists from the building, but also referenced the way in which new businesses paint or otherwise cover their windows as they are being fitted out. The work is a poetic gesture of erasure, putting an end to a long history of artistic activities in the building. 

Matthew Sleeth lives and works in Melbourne. Recent solo exhibitions include Magnificent Obsessions, Claire Oliver Gallery, New York; The Future is Here, RMIT Design Hub, Melbourne; The Generative Freeway Project, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney; Long Distance Visions, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Ten Series, Aperture, New York; and Tour of Duty, Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne; Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne; and Boccalero Gallery, Los Angeles.