Qualifications and academic training

• PhD in Fine Art, University of Kent
• MA Fine Arts, Chelsea College of Art & Design (2008-2009)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design
• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Post-Compulsory Education and Training), University of Huddersfield
• Bachelor of Fine Arts, Leeds Metropolitan University

Activity and/or professional career

Born in Sheffield, UK, he lived, worked and studied in the UK until 2017, when he moved to Barcelona. Since he arrived he has completed residencies at Hangar.org (2018-20), MACBA Center for Studies and Documentation (2018) and in 2020 he began a long residency at La Escocesa that is still ongoing.

Investigation

As an artist, writer, and researcher, his practice revolves around abstraction and storytelling. He is especially interested in the liminal space between the literary and the visual, which was the starting point of his doctoral thesis. His research establishes an effective philosophical framework and strategy for proposing fiction as a form of critical writing and research in art.
Despite his counter-intuitive nature (or perhaps because of it), he uses his abstract paintings to tell stories. Abstraction, like science fiction, can offer a more "real" perspective on our increasingly abstract and unreal lives.

Publications

• The Story of the Third Object, paper presented at INDISCIPLINES Proceedings
• The Polycephalus in The Journal of Contemporary Painting
• Shifting in Antennae in The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture
• The Story of the Third Object in The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing

Work

• La Pedra Ritual de Collserola, Centre d’Art Maristany, Sant Cugat (2023)
• Cangeles, Fundació Arranz-Bravo, Barcelona (2022)
• Al acance, Dilalica, Barcelona (2022)
• Aliento, Nogueras Blanchard, Barcelona (2021)
• Cap Gros, 38b Projects, Londres (2018)

Awards

• Grants for research and innovation in the fields of visual arts, new creative sectors, performing arts, music and thought. Support Office for the Cultural Initiative, Generalitat de Catalunya (2022-20)
• Production scholarship, Hangar Production Center, Barcelona

https://mlawton.co.uk/