Provenance:

Private Collection, Toronto

Exhibited:

Juggernaut Cocktail: Matt Bahen, Steve Driscoll, Charlene Connelly and Aleks Rdest. Angell Gallery. 3 August, 2002.

Note:

Matt Bahen is perhaps best known for his haunting canvases of war-torn landscapes, derelict architecture, scavenging dogs and confrontational snipers on human scale canvases. The subject matter for Warrior/Hostage (2002) precedes that of his professional body of work, however it shows a budding interest in machines of destruction and in the devastation of war that permeates much of his work to date. This work, painted on a reclaimed army canvas, is witty with its bright pink F-15E Strike Eagle (a high speed, long-range military fighter plane) and a “soldier” at the ready (an ape with a can of beer and a cigarette). Humourous it may be at first glance, but the message inherent in Warrior/Hostage might be that humans, with all of their evolved intellect, are not advanced enough to avoid the destruction and desolation of war.

Matt Bahen graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (Toronto) in 2002 and has since participated in many group exhibitions across Canada and the United States. In recent years, he has had solo exhibitions at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, Ontario and Munch Gallery in New York. Bahen is also a musician, singer and songwriter.