Matthew Grant Godbey is a painter of immeasurable talent. His work, which is being show cased at Locals for the next few weeks, is truly astonishing. His paintings display a sadness and sincereity that seem out of place in the superficial quasi-kingdom of Los Angeles. And yet, the work finds a true relevance in out post 9/11 world. Six months after the disaster that affected all of us, Matthew has become one of the premiere narrators of this time in our lives, communictating a depth of emotion that had been kept locked away, freed, most unfortunately, by the acts of desperate mad men. Godbey paints on canvas yet he's like a photographer. His work so accurately portrays feelings about life and about relating to each other, feelings that have been brought to the surface during the past six months and that have affected us in so many ways. When asked about this Mathhew said, "I want to affect the most amount of peole that I can. That's the goal, so people can take something away that influences them. That's what Picasso does for me." Will Godbey be another Picasso? It might be a bit early yet, but he's well on his way.

by Stu Mark