Yak Crossing Stream Painting

Matt Borengasser is an American painter known for his landscape paintings of Asian locations. His paintings are completed on location in one setting and follow more expressive traditions of the fauvists and lesser-known schools such as the Society of Six in the San Francisco Bay Area. Characterized by instinctual compositions, flat use of color and sometimes rapid application of paint, the paintings pay homage to the subject matter without being overworked. Paintings that represent a “gist” of the subject matter while at the same time avoiding over-generalization. Many of his works include renegade elements and imperfections that surface as part of the process and are left when they support the final product. Off-again-on-again production results in a constant re-acquaintance with the painting. Ways of paintings and use of material are reviewed creating a unique disposition towards the work. Matt’s landscape paintings are inspired by Paul Cezanne’s small brushstrokes and fragmentation of the picture plane, as well as Fauve artists in terms of color vision. Henry Matisse’s ability to caricaturize subjects while producing a believability that is anything but cartoonish can also be seen in Matt’s portraiture. Monet’s gesture and the illusion of space made possible by very smooth work surfaces also influences the paintings. Perhaps more influential is the work of regional west-coast American artists such as David Park, Selden Conner Gile and other Society of Six artists. Mid 20th century abstract expressionism such as the work of Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky are important as is the push-pull sensibility of Hans Hofmann. Asian influences are also felt in Matt’s paintings which are strongly influenced by . watercolor and aesthetic sensibilities associated with traditional Chinese painting. The balance of melodic, whimsical line and weighty form found in the work of Chinese painters such as late Qing/ early Ming painter Ba Da Shan Ren and 20th Century painter Qi Baishi also is present in his work. After acquiring a large studio in 2020, Matt’s work has focused almost exclusively on large, abstract paintings. Drawing on 30 years of serious figurative and landscape painting, these new works explore color and form through non-representational compositions.