ABOUT THE ARTIST
Since childhood, Beat Matti loved to paint and draw. Art has always been an integral part of the Matti family. Beat’s mother Ruth, also an artist, played an important role by encouraging her son to pursue his artistic talent. Following his architectural studies in Thun, Beat decided to be self-employed as an architectural draftsman, allowing him the flexibility to paint. For the past 18 years, Beat has painted professionally, starting with the first painting he sold in 1989. Since then, Beat has created over 1,000 works in different techniques (oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, etc.) He is inspired by realism, impressionism and the abstract.
Having grown up in the mountains, he is drawn to the ever-changing sky and slope colors. In addition, while spending time in southern India, he was inspired by the vivid colors, varying shades of brown as well as the color and spirit of the Indian people. During his world travels and time away from the studio, he photographs, sketches and captures landscape details and texture.
Back in his Saanen schoolhouse studio, he integrates the themes of rural and mountain scenes to create his well-recognized landscapes. The artist employs acrylic and oil on his canvases. Currently, Beat spends a lot of time at his alpine hut in Gruben, above the bustling Gstaad and Saanen valleys. This gives him the peace and time he needs to explore and paint his favorite mountains with their gurgling streams and bustling forests. Be it winter, summer, spring or fall, nature continues to provide Beat with endless ideas and inspiration.
BIOGRAPHY
1965 Born in Saanen, Switzerland 1972 - 1981 Attendance of Saanen Primary and Secondary schools 1985 Studies and degree as architectural draughtsman, Thun 1989 Co-founded architectural and design firm Matti & Rime, Saanen 1989 - 1992 Atelier in Rougemont. Autodidactic experiment with watercolor, acrylic, and oil. Recycling objects. Sold first work. 1992 - 1993 Trip around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, east Asia. Batik classes and painting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 1994 Started to work in studio at the old Saanen schoolhouse. 1997 - 1998 Worked with Indian painter Ashokan Nanniyode in Trivendrum, Kerala, southern India. EXHIBITIONS
1993 Curling Hall, Gstaad: group exhibition, portraits und abstract compositions 1993 Hotel Alpina, Gstaad: landscapes and sculptures 1995 Hotel Alpina, Gstaad 1996 Sports Palace, Hotel Bellerive,Gstaad: sports images 1997 Galerie wandelbar, Gstaad: solo exhibition, "in color" 1997 Galerie wandelbar, Gstaad: August, collective exhibition of works by international artists 1998 Galerie wandelbar, Gstaad: solo exhibition featuring India and abstract paintings 1998 Group exhibition Promenade Gstaad 1999 Galerie wandelbar, Gstaad: solo exhibition "Momente", surreallistic landscapes, abstract compositions and objects. 1999 Restaurant Pubbles (aka Saanen Pub), Saanen 2000 Heimatwerk, Saanen 2000 Restaurant Pubbles, Saanen 2000 Old Saanen Schoolhouse: a retrospective 2001 Hostellerie Alpenrose, Schönried: “Saanenland” 2002 Posthotel Rössli, Gstaad 2002 Hotel Saanerhof,Saanen: permanent exhibition 2003 Galerie “Saanesänf”, Gstaad: summer images 2003 Hostellerie Alpenrose,Schönried: winter images 2004 Hotel Restaurant Bahnhof, Saanenmöser, summer images 2005 Hotel Restaurant Bahnhof, Saanenmöser, winter images
2006 Hostellerie Alpenrose, Schönried 2007 Hotel Spitzhorn, Saanen 2008 Chalet Lenoir, Gruben, Gstaad PUBLICATIONS
© Beat Matti 2008. All rights reserved. Farb | 3792 Saanen, Switzerland | Tel. +41 (0) 79 375 65 17