Matt McFarren Spotlight
Matt McFarren
Written by Liv Barton, November 2025
With just one glance, the eye-catching portraits and figures Mathew McFarren creates radiate energy. Energy from a time decades ago, or energy from a moment just experienced. Each painting possesses a liveliness that jumps out for all to see.
McFarren is not afraid to use color and use layering throughout his process. There’s a familiarity in his work, whether it be a look-in-the-eye’s of the subject you once knew or a scene that resonates with old memories. His layering techniques, sometimes underlaying an up-close face overtop for a line of hazy people, offer a refreshing depth to his work.
McFarren is an Ohio-based artist with a past in Colorado. In 1980, he graduated from the Colorado Institute of Art, where he stayed to illustrate, paint, and teach in Denver until around 2009. Shortly after, he moved to Granville, Ohio where he continues to play around with intense colors and emotions in his paintings. He tends to use oil the most in his pieces, amplifying the texture and vibrance that shines through, or as he puts it, “to better communicate a particular feeling.”
The layers in McFarren’s work transcends the expected. Some of his work focuses on public or historical figures–figures like Toni Morrison or Frederick Douglass. Against an eye-catching background, his portraits illuminated the unique features of those who came before us. McFarren’s process of layering something so classic upon something that could be considered more abstract or playful allows for a stark juxtaposition that manifests energy. With this energy comes movement, something that shines through a lot of his pieces too. Either through a portrait depicting literal movement or the layers that create a fluidity, his work encapsulates motion, –speaking to his values, “I try to capture energy.”
