Matthew snead
Matthew Snead is a London-based contemporary artist working with clay through a sculptural and architectural approach. Drawing on his background in documentary filmmaking, he creates three-dimensional forms through measurement, cutting and assembly. His practice explores material agency, architectural tension, impermanence and the relationship between human intention and the natural behaviour of clay. He participates in RAW STATES の, curated by Marie Camara for off-RCA at Niche.Show London 2026.
-
Matthew Snead is a London-based contemporary artist whose practice approaches clay as a sculptural material with its own physical agency, history and structural voice.
Drawing on an extensive background in documentary film production and directing, Snead considers his works three-dimensional sketches, constructed through processes of measurement, cutting, editing and assembly.
Moving away from traditional wheel-thrown forms, he investigates straight lines, sharp right angles, mitred joints and cuboid geometries, exploring how a material rooted in fluidity can sustain architectural tension.
His practice develops through a dialogue between artistic intention and the unpredictable behaviour of clay. As the material resists, yields, dries and responds to heat, it actively influences the resulting form.
Visible seams, raw edges and exposed joints remain integral to his work, revealing the processes of construction rather than concealing them.
Through these material encounters, Snead investigates imperfection, physical honesty and the impermanent nature of objects.
-
For RAW STATES の, Matthew Snead investigates the relationship between material agency, architectural construction and the elemental forces that shape sculptural form.
Beginning with flat slabs of clay, he cuts, trims and assembles geometric structures, allowing the material's natural behaviour to challenge the precision of his initial intentions.
Drying, humidity and firing become active participants in the process, introducing resistance, vulnerability and transformation.
Rejecting conventional glazing, Snead preserves the tactile qualities of exposed clay, revealing seams, fissures and traces of construction.
Where colour is introduced, he uses Japanese black ink, a material whose response to water reinforces the possibility of change over time.
His work challenges the distinction between control and unpredictability, proposing sculpture as a continuing negotiation between the artist, the material and the forces acting upon it.
-
THAT CONVERSATION
That Conversation is a three-part sculptural work investigating the relationship between architectural form, material behaviour and functional ambiguity.
Constructed from clay, the three geometric vessels occupy a space between sculpture and functional object.
Although they can hold water, their construction allows leakage above the midpoint, while the black ink applied to their surfaces responds to contact with moisture.
These qualities are not presented as defects but as expressions of the material's capacity to resist permanence and conventional expectations of function.
Through exposed construction, restrained geometry and an absence of decorative embellishment, That Conversation foregrounds the physical presence of clay itself.