The landscape in which Matthew grew up, the flat plains of Colorado’s northeastern corner, was filled with aging agricultural machinery. Matthew found this machinery, with its large gears and exposed mechanizations, visually exciting. Grain elevators and silos appeared as beautiful vessels simply constructed.
Joining the Marine Corps, Matthew left home and was exposed to the urban landscape. The engineered structures in this intricately constructed environment; the buildings, the bridges, the highways and the sidewalks all struck a visual cord.
The infrastructure in both landscapes was, and is, a source of inspiration for Matthew. His artistic vocabulary is rooted in the utilitarian simplicity of agricultural structures and in the complex urban construct.
The materials and construction methods are integral to the theme of each piece. Industrial metal is riveted to precious metal. Dark materials are interposed, through layering, with light colored materials. The sun appears next to and opposite the moon as day meets night and night gives way to day. Openings are complimented by closings.
The potential for a harmonious interaction between opposing forces is a constant theme in Matthew’s jewelry. It is a theme that finds its resolution in the world where the organic and the mechanical compliment each other. This world is alive and thriving in Matthew’s work.
The wearable constructions that you see are small parts of the larger story he is discovering and fabricating. His pieces of wearable sculpture ask questions and find resolutions, if not answers. Each piece is connected to those that came before and those that lie ahead. All of the work is deeply associated with his earliest influences.
The work is honest, joyful, exploratory, humorous and sometimes dark. Often it is all of these. His intellectual and artistic curiosity combined with his technical skill give us little works of great integrity.