In conversation with Matthew Hilton

“The work is a genuine reflection of myself and I hope that observers will recognise that reality and passion.” 

- Matthew Hilton

Image. Matthew Hilton. Photo by Romany Gilmour.

Matthew Hilton has spent the majority of his career designing furniture and interior products. He's earned recognition as a Royal Designer for Industry and received multiple awards. His latest exhibit, TOUGH MOMENT, at Paul Smith's gallery, represents his first foray into sculpture.

How did your journey into scultpure begin?
There was not one moment, I have always been a creative person, at school I hid out in the art room and I always loved making things. My journey as a designer happened naturally after going to Kingston to study 3D design, but in the last six years or so, I have felt the urge to work more freely. Just me drawing, modelling and sketching without an end goal; which is how I had spent the majority of my working life. I found myself collecting objects which appealed to me: discarded pieces of metal from factory floor, old tools from flea-markets, bits of flotsam from river banks and beaches. I also began sketching on the iPad, 2D digital black and white artworks. All of this led me to thinking in 3D, experimenting with forms partly influenced by the materials and textures that I respond to but also intuitively playing with shapes. The confidence to know when the proportions of that shape felt right, for sure comes from decades of making those judgements as a designer, but equally, the lack of constraints has been unnerving. This last six or seven years has been a series of tough decisions, tough moments overlaid on a satisfying creative journey.


How would you describe your work's style? Is there a recognisable characteristic that defines it?
People do sometimes say to me that’s very ‘Matthew Hilton’ I sometimes know what they mean, but it is very difficult to identify exactly what characteristics define what constitutes 'Matthew Hilton' character in a design or artwork. What has been interesting is to see and feel that this signature does seem to cross mediums to some extent. I can see there are hints of it in the sculpture collection I am presenting which people who know my design work well may be able to sense.

Style is not a word I like to associate with work I do. To me it means I am working in a way that evokes certain associations.. and generalises in a way that can be misleading. I don’t mind other people making those observations however, that is bound to happen and as a creative person I don’t work in a vacuum without the influences of the time that I am working in and that are part of my history.

Image: Sculptures by Matthew Hilton.

How have you seen your creative approach change and grown over the years?
There isn’t a recognisable pattern or growth. I think that is because the approach to what I am designing, making or creating is influenced by the circumstances of my life, financial concerns and responsibilities as well as who I am working with. My approach could be affected by the attention that my work is receiving or not receiving at the time. As a designer working to produce designs for manufacture, it would affect my opportunities for freedom of expression. At this point in my life, you could say that some of these factors influencing my work have become lighter and I am therefore more free to take risks, push myself to explore and work in a much more solitary way..listening only to my own instincts and making my own decisions. This is new, much of my previous work has a shared responsibility, the manufacturer, the maker, my design team all share in the realising the final result. My name may be on the work in those instances but it feels different to what I am now about to do.


Looking back on your journey as a creative person, can you pinpoint the most fulfilling moment you've experienced?
I have to say that although I have spent most of my life creating objects that have a function, and there have been moments on that journey that stand out as being incredibly rewarding, I think one piece which comes to mind is the Cross table for Case furniture, that has all the elements I try to bring to a piece of furniture, it works, it functions in an interesting way, it has strong visual identity which gives it presence in the market, it takes risks but they pay off, the price is good, the quality is good. Everything is considered down to the packaging for shipping. But..I have found a new level of fulfilment realising objects that derive solely from my trust in an aesthetic and representation of an idea. It’s surprising to me and extremely fulfilling.

Your upcoming exhibition TOUGH MOMENTS is set to be showcased at the Paul Smith Gallery Space. Can you tell us about the journey that brought TOUGH MOMENTS to life?
After having spent time experimenting with 2D drawings and also some model making, I started to feel more confident about asking for feedback from some people I knew in the art world. These conversations encouraged me to keep working and at some point, I felt  there was enough of a clear direction in what I was doing to create a collection for a show. On considering who this work might appeal to, it occurred to me that Paul Smith had always been interested in my work and in the ’80’s was one of the first people to buy my cast aluminium candle sticks to sell in his shop.

I contacted him and there was a very positive response. From that point on I started working in earnest to translate the pieces I was working on from 3D CAD objects and printed models to the full size objects themselves.

Image: Installation view of Matthew Hilton: TOUGH MOMENT at the Paul Smith Gallery Space, Albemarle Street, Mayfair.

What was the driving inspiration behind the works that will be on show?
There are many inspirations, or aims or ideas I had in mind, there is the raw beauty of industry, the heat, the noise, the smells, there is huge respect for people who manufacture things at this heavy engineering level. I have seen hundreds of factories and I came to realise that there is a very elegant and functional, distilled aesthetic that comes for things being designed purely for function, for cost effectiveness, longevity, robustness. A truck gear box casing for example has little time spent on aesthetics in its design but the criteria, the framework set by the aim of the designers, in the end produces a thing of elegant raw beauty in my mind. These things are rarely seen, almost never judged for their aesthetic quality and I wanted to draw attention to this almost by product aesthetic. I see beauty there which I am trying to elevate, or highlight.

What kind of experience do you envision for visitors engaging with your pieces?
Art is obviously a subjective and personal experience, and people will engage with it in their own unique ways. Some may respond, others not at all. For those that do, I suppose they may feel the same things that I do- an appreciation of the materiality, solidity and weight of the pieces. They might feel the tension between the weight of the material and the lightness of the interacting forms. Some of the pieces have references to intimate relationships, to the duality and singularity, the pushing away and coming together, splits, joins and what is between. The glue and the space, the attraction and rejection.

I hope people will recognise those elements but also I know that people will see different things and in the end I can do only what I can do. This being my first ever show I am supremely interested in how people will respond. The work is a genuine reflection of myself and I hope that observers will recognise that reality and passion. 


Throughout your career, what’s been the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about yourself, your skills, or just life in general? 

I am surprised, I surprise myself, I hadn’t realised I could work so hard, I have realised that relationships in your career are very important, in life also of course. I have learnt how a positive and flexible attitude is a massive asset. 

I now understand that although the doing is supremely important, it is the thinking that makes the biggest difference. without that being thorough the end result is rather vacuous.

Is there a piece of advice you’ve received that really resonated with you and significantly influenced your approach to your work?
Ha, believe in yourself and work hard, the same advice I would give anyone.

We like to discover new artists in our interviews. Are there three designers you'd recommend our readers keep an eye out for this year?

I have been really immersed in MY new direction so I really can't be sure I am up to date and following all the design world news but I think what Atelier thirty four are doing is really interesting they have just recently started their own design business after loyally working with me for decades. They are creating some lovely things.We will also continue to work together under the Matthew Hilton Studio name.

As someone who has deeply impacted the world of furniture design, what advice would you offer to emerging designers?

It may be a cliche but believe in yourself and work hard. There is absolutely no escaping working hard, just put hours in. Work out what your beliefs are, what you are interested in and be genuine.You need to feed your mind and let your work be informed by the world around you rather than other designs/designers.

Matthew Hilton: TOUGH MOMENT will be on at the Paul Smith Gallery Space on Albemarle Street, Mayfair, until 31 October 2023.

Website: matthewhiltonstudio.com

Instagram: @matthewhiltonsculpture