THE Superheroes Are Coming exhibition at Metropolis gallery in Westbourne is proving to be a hit across the board.

All age groups have been visiting to see the work on show and have been able to identify with the characters brought to life by urban artist Matt Nicholls.

With films like the Avengers and Batman achieving worldwide commercial success, the popularity of the superhero genre is at its peak; Matt Nicholls’ exhibition has proven to be very popular with all visitors to the Metropolis gallery.

Formerly a graphic designer, this exhibition is Matt’s first as a full-time artist and also his first outside of his hometown, Bristol.

After winning the prestigious Upfest, an urban art festival in Bristol, Matt has decided to take a chance and move away from his most common subject matter.

Nicknamed “The Monkey Man” due to his frequent paintings of chimpanzees, Matt has decided to diversify his portfolio and portray superheroes with a retro theme, with backgrounds reminiscent of a Marvel or D.C comic book. According to gallery owner, Vicki Angus, graffiti art and comic book art go hand in hand so the transition has been a very smooth one.

The first thing that strikers you about Matt’s paintings is the incredible amount of details that goes into all of his pieces, from the different colours used to the detail of his canvasses. Vicki went into a bit more detail about the sheer amount of work that Matt puts in to his art.

“Usually, Matt’s first job is creating a canvas with a view to finishing the painting at a later date,” she said.

“He then creates incredibly complicated stencils so that he can perfectly capture the correct pose.”

Vicki is a fan of Matt’s work and it seems that visitors to the gallery share her opinion.

She added: “This exhibition has been incredibly popular and Matt is developing a real following here.

“Even before the exhibition had opened, we had an order for five pieces of his work, which shows you just how popular he is.

“Many people are buying these pieces because they are timeless classics.

“Characters like Superman will never go out of fashion so pieces like these won’t date and he has used acrylic paints so the pieces will always retain their great colours.”

The Superhero exhibition at the Metropolis Gallery in Wimborne is free to view and will be displayed until September 10.