Matisse: Joy

About Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was a leading figure in twentieth-century modern art. Born in a textile town in Northern France in 1869, he took up painting whilst recovering from appendicitis, and went on to study under Gustave Moreau at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In the summers of 1904 and 1905, Matisse travelled south and was exposed to the bright sunlight of Saint Tropez and Collioure, and his work dramatically shifted. His optically dynamic expressive works, painted with colours of astonishing boldness, were part of the 1905 Salon d’Autumne group exhibition, alongside André Derain. The work was derided and a critic dubbed the group les fauves (‘wild beasts’), giving rise to the term Fauvism.

Matisse is now widely considered one of the most significant colourists of all time. Several of Matisse’s early paintings were commissioned by the Russian collector Sergei Shchukin. Throughout his career, Matisse travelled extensively, to Spain, Tangier, Morocco, Polynesia, and America, where he was commissioned to paint murals for the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. In his old age, following surgery for abdominal cancer, he was confined to bed,  prevented from painting and began to develop a revolutionary technique with paper cut-outs. He used this process for projects ranging in scale from books, to wall-size friezes, and his designs for the Chapel of the Rosary in the French town of Vence. He died, aged 84 yet still at the height of his creative powers, in 1954.

About Yinka Ilori

Yinka Ilori MBE is a British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and designer whose bold visual language draws on his dual heritage to convey new narratives through contemporary design.

Humorous, provocative, and playful, Ilori’s work demonstrates how design can bring people and communities together, reimagine spaces, and create positive social impact while inspiring joy and optimism. Spanning architecture, sculpture, furniture, interiors, and graphic design, his multidisciplinary practice explores themes that resonate with audiences worldwide and is guided by the belief that art and design should be accessible to all. Through his personal line, Yinka Ilori Objects, he extends this vision into limited-edition collectibles and everyday objects that inspire people to dream, feel, and create.

A graduate of London Metropolitan University’s BA in Furniture and Product Design, Ilori has exhibited his work internationally through solo and group exhibitions, public commissions, and set and exhibition design projects.

In 2025, the same year that he was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society for Arts (RSA), he launched the Yinka Ilori Foundation with a mission to create playful, inclusive, and sustainable community spaces that foster creativity, opportunity and self-sufficiency, for children and youth.