Michael Mathews

With my current paintings I've adopted a method of working that mainly utilizes techniques of mixed media collage & gestural abstraction. Using a limited palette of mostly neutrals I'm able to emphasize more tonal & chromatic nuances. This along with the intermixing of dry, wet, printed & textural media creates a further sense of visual & tactile depth. At the moment I'm also working a lot smaller which helps with tighter & more thoughtful compositions.
My approach to abstraction is mostly intuitive. Rather than seeking the "perfect" composition I gravitate towards randomness & loose symmetry in mostly strained geometric forms. For me this seems to echo a carefree childlike exploratory phase of ego building & development. I like to play with patterns, shapes & textures which I move around & organize into fragments of matter until the emergence of the "potential self" starts to come into play. The final surfaces create tactile sensation while the abstraction offers some optical relief to our visually saturated experiences. Making this kind of art allows me to channel basic visual exploration, "imaginary memory" & automatic psychological spaces into a style that's inspired by post-minimalism, traditional collage & architecture. ...

1997 - 2002 - Bachelor of Fine Arts - Minneapolis College of Art & Design