Matthew Flowers

{{Short description|British contemporary art dealer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Matthew Flowers | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1956|}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | mother = Angela Flowers | father = Adrian Flowers | nationality =  | occupation = Gallerist | spouses =  | children = }}

'''Matthew Flowers''' (born 1956) is a British contemporary art dealer based in London and New York.<ref name="Watson1992">{{cite book|author=Peter Watson|title=From Manet to Manhattan: the rise of the modern art market|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5-fAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-679-40472-9|page=240}}</ref> He is the managing director of Flowers Gallery.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Economist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OB3uAAAAMAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Economist Newspaper Limited|page=91}}</ref> Throughout his career he has been on boards and committees of international art fairs and arts institutions and since 2008 he has been a non-executive Director of DACS (visual artists’ rights management organisation). Flowers is also a keyboard player and vocalist.

==Early life== Matthew Flowers is the son of Angela Flowers (art dealer) and Adrian Flowers (photographer).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/adrian-flowers-talks-to-elizabeth-avedon/|title=Adrian Flowers Talks To Elizabeth Avedon|date=3 July 2014|website=Loeildelaphotographie.com|accessdate=6 August 2020}}</ref> He has two brothers and two sisters.

== Music career (1974-1983) == Flowers was the keyboard player, co-songwriter and manager of the rock band Sore Throat.<ref name="Reed">{{cite book|author=John Reed|title=House of Fun: The Story of Madness|date=30 August 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgk9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-78323-334-2|pages=73–}}</ref> Sore Throat made several records and appeared on ''Revolver'' presented by Peter Cook in 1978 and ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K5OTlmrDk8|title=BBC2 - The Old Grey Whistle Test: The Ramones and Sore Throat (1980)|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=6 August 2020}}</ref> He also played in Killer Whales, Mattandan and Blue Zoo. Blue Zoo's song, "Cry Boy Cry" was a UK top 20 hit in 1982, and led to two appearances on ''Top of the Pops''.

==Career in art== Flowers started working at Angela Flowers Gallery at weekends in 1970. He then assisted his mother Angela Flowers (founder of the Gallery) from 1975 to 1978 and became gallery manager in 1983.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/apr/03/books.guardianreview3 "Angela Flowers: Playing to the gallery"]. ''The Guardian'', 3 April 1999.</ref> The Gallery expanded in 1988 when opening Flowers East in Hackney.<ref>{{cite book|title=Country Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3JMAAAAYAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Country Life, Limited|page=83}}</ref> Matthew Flowers set up Flowers Graphics (International print publishers) in 1988<ref>{{cite book|title=Printmaking Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AY1IAQAAIAAJ|year=1998|page=15}}</ref> and became Managing Director of Angela Flowers Gallery in 1989.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/fb34dd34-7594-11e4-a1a9-00144feabdc0 "London's fine art galleries try new ways to lure in customers"]. ''Financial Times''.</ref> In 1991 Flowers Gallery expanded further with an 18,000 sq feet space called London Fields. In 1997 the Gallery opened Flowers West in Santa Monica (California, USA) and Flowers Central on Cork Street (London, UK).<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/d62d377e-13ae-11e2-9cc7-00144feabdc0 "Cork Street goes pop"]. ''Financial Times'' By Zoe Dare Hall</ref> Matthew set up a publishing company focusing on artist monographs and survey exhibitions in 1995. From 2005 to 2007 he published ''State of Art'' newspaper with editor Mike von Joel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sohojournal.co.uk/mike-von-joel/ |title=Soho Journal, Mike Von Joel |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131201201/http://sohojournal.co.uk/mike-von-joel/ |archive-date=31 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

His gallery has represented artists,<ref>[http://latestupdatednews.org/arts-entertainment/fair-dealing-1283092.html "Fair dealing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206023436/http://latestupdatednews.org/arts-entertainment/fair-dealing-1283092.html |date=6 February 2016 }}. ''The Independent'', Rosie Millard 23 October 2011</ref> including Eduardo Paolozzi,<ref name=telegraphchristies>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3640180/Market-news-Christies-appointments.html "Market news: Christie's appointments"]. ''The Daily Telegraph'', Colin Gleadell, 11 Apr 2005</ref> Stephen Chambers,<ref name="Lambirth2008">{{cite book|author=Andrew Lambirth|title=Stephen Chambers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5PrAAAAMAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Unicorn Press|isbn=978-0-906290-94-1|pages=33, 52}}</ref> Tom Phillips, Ken Currie, Nicola Hicks, Peter Howson, John Keane, Patrick Hughes, Alison Watt, Lucy Jones and Richard Smith.

In addition to representing contemporary artists Flowers has overseen many group and survey exhibitions such as ''Artist of the Day'', a platform for emerging artists since 1983,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a40d174c-f55b-11e3-afd3-00144feabdc0|title='Artist of the Day', London|date=20 June 2014|website=Ft.com|accessdate=6 August 2020}}</ref> ''Small is Beautiful'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aestheticamagazine.com/small-is-beautiful-flowers-gallery-london-and-new-york/|title=Aesthetica Magazine - Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London and New York|website=Aestheticamagazine.com|accessdate=6 August 2020}}</ref> ''British Abstract Art'', ''British Figurative Art'', ''Contemporary Portraits'', ''Badge Art'', and ''The Thatcher Years: an Artistic Retrospective''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152737191135612.1073741827.332496585611&type=3|title=THE THATCHER YEARS | Facebook|website=Facebook.com|accessdate=6 August 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://archive.today/20140912005015/http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/16015/Matthew-Dominic-FLOWERS Debrett's] *[http://www.dacs.org.uk/about-us/board-of-directors DACS Board of Directors] *[http://www.flowersgallery.com/ Flowers Gallery]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowers, Matthew}} Category:1956 births Category:English rock keyboardists Category:English new wave musicians Category:Art dealers from London Category:Living people