Ashway Rocks, Saddleworth Moor, 2013

Elliott Gallery is proud to present:

Stripper & Saddleworth by Matthew Murray

Matthew Murray’s work is marked by an eclectic vibrancy that draws inspiration from his everyday visual encounters and extensive travels. His photographic style blends portraiture and landscape, capturing moments of subtle vulnerability and intimate exposure. With a career spanning editorial and advertising campaigns for world-leading agencies, Murray’s portfolio also includes a rich selection of personal projects.

In the Saddleworth series, Murray responds to the vastness and texture of the landscape, paying homage to the light found in Dutch Seventeenth Century landscape painting. This series, shown at mac in Birmingham (2017) and Elliott Gallery in Amsterdam (2018), explores both the grand and the minute, offering a contemporary take on classical landscape traditions. The monograph for this series won first prize in the 2018 International Photography Awards.

Ducca, Adrenaline by Matthew Murray

Meanwhile, Stripper delves into the themes of exposure and performance, documenting the UK Pleasure Boys, the UK's premier male stripping service. Through his use of a dark filter to mask the subjects' physiques, Murray encourages viewers to engage with the images slowly, exploring the voyeuristic nature of stripping and the complex interplay of seduction and intimacy.

Murray’s work has been exhibited internationally in Paris, London, Berlin, and Cologne and is part of the permanent collections of MOMA, New York, The Tate, The Victoria & Albert Museum, and The British Library.