artscenetoday featured artist Tom Matthews

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t om m a t t h e w s

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2nd PLACE WINNER: The NEW 3 R's Competition

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tom matthews

McAllen, Texas/usa

surplus 4

mixed media, using old school chairs

$10,000 + delivery & installation

www.tommatthewsart.com (under construction)

tom@tommatthewsart.com

artist statement

I use mechanically reproduced pedestrian items such as used school chairs, industrial aprons and matchbooks to construct sculpture. I do not alter the items; instead I alter their context by orchestrating their orientation into rhythmic patterns of formal symmetry transforming them from utilitarian functional objects into temporary formal and conceptual sculpture.

Traces of the human experience are left behind on the chairs and it is this essence or ghost image that I am interested in exploring. Generations of a physical presence unseen and rarely noticed. There is humanity in each object and they all reveal the touch of a human body. The remnants of those lives left behind and the spirit of what a single item can mean to a person is the essence of what the sculptures represent.

The school chair could be a metaphor for social commentary. One chair used over and over for generations of students, taught the same things, in the same way, sitting in the same place, shadowed by those that came before. Year in, year out, repetition and discipline. A social educational rhythmic order. The unchanging system revolving around the unchanging chair. Yet the students which occupy the chairs are all different, with different needs, different learning abilities, and different pasts and different futures. Some are passed from classroom to classroom in need of repair. Some valued more than others. Many are overlooked, left in the shadows, ignored. Finally, viewed as objects no longer useful to the system, they are discarded.

I feel a sense of redemption, and rescue with these objects, and view the sculptures created with them, as the summation of a sculptural equation. I feel I'm linking the past lives of each item, to the pieces I create. I am recycling discarded items, which touched, both physically and mentally, numerous human lives.

bio

ArtSceneToday Q&A

Q: Where do you see yourself in the art scene today?

A: I consider myself an emerging artist who currently concentrates on sculpture, installation and drawing. I try to meld the conceptual and sculptural elements of my work to create pieces that are powerful and contemplative.

Q: What is in your inspiration?

A: A burning desire to succeed. A love for the process. The passion to continue. And the realization that art is my life.

Q: What are your challenges?

A: Most of my challenges are internal and involve the artistic process. Like most artists, my biggest challenge is making more time to spend in the studio.

Q: How did you/do you choose your medium?

A: I work with objects that invade our personal space. Chairs, aprons and matchbooks to name a few. I'm interested in mass produced objects that humans touch in an intimate way and then discard without a feeling of detachment. I choose not to alter the objects, but instead use them as I found them creating sculpture with multiples.

Q: Which artist has influenced you the most?

A: Professor Sara Waters at Texas Tech University influenced my work more than any other artist. Sara is able to tap into my artistic core and through gentle suggestion present what was always present. There are many artists who inspire me, but Sara changed the way I approach my art.