Sharlé Matthews' career in art and art education has spanned over two decades, and she has taught and lectured at various institutions. 

Although her early training was in painting, over the years, Matthews has experimented with different media, techniques, materials, and explored various themes in her work."I have dealt with a variety of issues in my work. Exploring Jung's concepts of us all having a set of internal blueprints of what it is to be human, San Pictographs and the symbolism therein, death and the beauty in death, vulnerability, skin colour and aspects of language and identity are just some of the themes I explore."

Sharlé now focusses on simple abstract shapes and subdued colour and attempt to state the essence of an experience in a personalised way. 

A brief stay on Robben Island during an educational exchange has also had an effect on Matthews' latest works. "There is something deeply moving, inspirational and troubling about the Island. It is removed from the mother country, reflecting the fact that it has been used as a place of separation and banishment. 

This all results in a process of layering colour, tone, line, textures and images, some of which are eventually covered up and revealed , often only partially at a later stage through scraping and scratching the surface of the work. In this way a "history" of both thought and paint manipulation eventually convey an often nostalgic , always personal, abstracted image.