These are not simply attractive views of familiar places. They are paintings of real substance and presence, with the scale, colour and energy to make a striking impression in a contemporary interior as readily as a period home.
When considering a title for Matthew Alexander's latest exhibition, my thoughts turned almost immediately to the composer Franz Liszt's Années de Pèlerinage - Years of Pilgrimage - a magnificent series of piano compositions that I have admired for many years.
Liszt's travels through Switzerland and Italy inspired some of his most personal music. He sought to express not merely the places he visited, but the impressions and emotions they left upon him. It struck me that Matthew Alexander has spent much of his life engaged in something remarkably similar, translating his own experiences of landscape, travel and discovery into painting.
The idea of pilgrimage seems particularly appropriate. Matthew returns repeatedly to places he loves, sometimes over many decades, finding that familiarity only deepens his appreciation. A different season, a change in the weather or an unexpected fall of light can transform somewhere he knows intimately into an entirely new subject.
Following the considerable success of his 2024 exhibition, I am delighted to welcome Matthew back to John Davies Gallery with Years of Pilgrimage, an impressive collection of oil paintings from Britain, Ireland, France and Venice.
Matthew's reputation is firmly established. Elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1984, he has exhibited extensively at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and enjoyed a long and distinguished association with David Messum Fine Art in London. His paintings have been exhibited internationally and acquired for numerous private, public and corporate collections. Notably, he was commissioned to produce eight oil paintings for Cunard's celebrated ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
His long career has given him tremendous assurance as a painter, without diminishing his enthusiasm for the places that first inspired him.
The British coastline remains especially close to his heart. Born and raised in Margate, and a knowledgeable, enthusiastic sailor, Matthew has an intimate understanding of the estuaries, harbours and tidal waters of Kent and East Anglia. Traditional sailing barges are a particular favourite, often appearing beneath large skies where dramatic clouds, passing storms and brilliant sunlight take command of the painting.
Elsewhere, the exhibition takes us through Scotland and southern Ireland, along the Thames and into London, through the villages and countryside of France, and to Paris and Venice. The variety is considerable, but throughout these paintings we see Matthew's fascination with the extraordinary effects of natural light.
His command of colour and tone is exceptional. Deep, richly painted shadows give way to astonishing passages of sunlight; great sweeps of sky dominate a composition, while boats, buildings and distant shorelines are established with a few confident brushstrokes. There is strength, freedom and vitality in his handling of paint, supported by more than fifty years of observation and experience.
Although firmly rooted in the traditions of British and European landscape painting, Matthew's work has a character and immediacy entirely its own. These are not simply attractive views of familiar places. They are paintings of real substance and presence, with the scale, colour and energy to make a striking impression in a contemporary interior as readily as a period home. Seen in the gallery, the richness of the paint and assurance of his technique are particularly compelling. They are works that reward close attention and offer lasting pleasure to those who live with them.
Matthew's longstanding association with John Davies Gallery has allowed us to follow his work over many years, and the response to his 2024 exhibition was especially gratifying.
Returning to Liszt, I am struck by the thought that these artistic pilgrimages produce something far more enduring than a record of the places visited. Liszt gave us extraordinary music shaped by his experiences of the world. Matthew Alexander, in his own distinctive way, has devoted his life to doing the same through painting.
Years of Pilgrimage is a splendid celebration of that achievement, and a wonderful opportunity to see and acquire work by an artist of considerable standing, skill and individuality.
We very much hope you will come and enjoy it.
John Davies
October 2026
