To whom it may concern:
I’m proud to have the opportunity to exhibit these 16 paintings in this beautiful barn a mile from my home and studio.
Edward Abbey noted in his introduction to Desert Solitaire, “not imitation but evocation has been the goal.” His words and art cannot serve as the stand-in for the experience of being in the desert, their role is reminding you of the erogenous zone that is experience.
I can’t compete with the richness of experience the natural world provides; I just shine a conversational light on it with my art lantern. I talk about my “evocations” with my neighbors and visiting friends in between conversations about mountain lions, lightning strikes, and land usage. Hopefully giving the art the context and attention it deserves; its not what we remember but why.
All the paintings are 45 x 57 inches with the little frames I put them in. They’re made of canvas that I have ripped, rearranged, and redecorated. Some of the torn canvases were completed paintings that were destroyed, some were painted tapestries for local events, and some of the canvas is raw and unpainted. The processes and materials I use to “finish” the paintings comes from the skillsets, observations, questions, solutions, and aesthetics that rural living has opened for me.
Come visit or reach out, let’s talk.
Best wishes, Matthew Chambers
Matthew Chambers was born in Boise, ID in 1982. Solo exhibitions include shows at UNTITLED, New York; Zabludowicz Collection, London; Rental, New York; Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles; Praz-Delavallade, Los Angeles; Zach Feuer Gallery, New York and Feuer/Mesler, New York. He has been included in group exhibitions including the Saatchi Gallery, London; Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; Marlborough, Madrid, Spain; Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy; and The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL. Chambers lives and works in Bozeman, MT.