Matthew Markum  

Born in 1990 in Mission Viejo, United States 
Resides and works in Los Angeles, United States 

Education/training: 

Fall 2023-2025: Art M.A., California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA

Employment:

June 2025-Present: Community College Art Instructor, Santa Barbara Community College, Santa Barbara, CA

Memberships:

Santa Barbara Art Association

Selected group exhibitions: 

2025 See What You Can FindVol.3, Bruhaus, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition)

2025 Happy Hour, Gallery of Hermosa, Hermosa Beach, CA (Group Exhibition)

2025 Timisms, Echo Park Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition)

2025 Fall Open Theme, ArtCollide Online Gallery (Online Group Show)

2025 For Him, Liam’s Den and Bubble Bar at the Venetian, Las Vegas, NV (Group Exhibition)

2025 Off the Hook, Covet Art Gallery, Oceanside, CA (Group Exhibition)

2025 Generous Pour, Roosterfish Lounge, Venice, CA (Group Exhibition)

2024 Cityscapes and Streetscapes, Santa Clarita City Hall, Santa Clarita, CA (Group Exhibition)

2024 Juried Student Show, Cal State University Northridge, Northridge, CA (Group Exhibition)

2023 Various Group Exhibitions, Artlounge Collective, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition) 

2021 Pop Culture & Trashy, Shockboxx, Redondo Beach, CA (Group Exhibition) 

2021 The Artists Gallery Group Show, Tag Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition) 


Selected collections: 

Matt Markum is collected by various private collectors in the United States. 

Selected press:

“Home is Where the Art Is” in Vanity Fair (UK) No. 720 (2020).  
“Artistic License” in Vanity Fair (UK) No. 721 (2020).  
“Picture Perfect” in Vanity Fair (UK) No. 722 (2020).  

My work explores the relationship between realism and abstraction through painting and drawing. Working primarily in oil, acrylic, and soft pastel, I am interested in how color, light, atmosphere, and layered surfaces can evoke both a sense of place and personal experience.

While my earlier work focused on surreal, collage-like narratives that examined contemporary culture, memory, and psychology, my recent practice has shifted toward contemporary landscape painting and highly detailed pastel drawings inspired by the California coast and surrounding environment. These works emphasize observation while maintaining an interest in expressive color, texture, and painterly mark-making.

Whether creating a landscape, an interior scene, or an abstract composition, I approach each piece as a balance between careful representation and intuitive exploration. Influenced by the traditions of realism, abstraction, and contemporary painting, I often allow passages of loose brushwork and visible process to coexist with areas of refined detail. Through this dialogue between observation and interpretation, I hope to create work that invites viewers to slow down, reflect, and connect with both the physical landscape and the emotional experience of being within it.