Kim Matthews’ recent modular styrofoam-based sculptures nod to the openhearted wonder of childhood. Matthews uses bright colors like orange, yellow, and magenta for these geometrical cubes, x’s, cones, and cylinders. Some contain an elusive sense of danger, with spikes that poke out from their skin.
Matthews returns to her formative experiences with design and popular art of the 1960s and 70s as she references process art, post-minimal art, and the exuberant graphics and industrial design of that period. These objects embrace a “handmade geometry” in which the objects, as Matthews puts it, “are the containers of the spirit of their making.”
Shown with the sculptures are selections from a series of 108 meditative drawings intended as offerings to the viewer. Imbuing these works with a distinctive spirit — whether that be time, reverence, joy, devotion, or another gift, the pieces are informed by the artist’s spiritual practice. The small framed works on paper are meant to function as tools of healing, of lightness, of peace. Like her sculptures, the drawings nod to modernist graphic design, even as they never hide their eccentricity and the fact that they are hand drawn. The lines aren’t exactly even, and patterns shift ever so subtly. The works become a homegrown gift — a kind of prayer.
Sheila Regan is a Minneapolis-based journalist and arts writer.
Written by Sheila Regan
D.O. ( Design Object s ) Series
The wooden and soft cubes shown here are prototypes for sculptural objects that can be functional or purely aesthetic, and are the first two models for domestic or commercial hybrid sculpture / furniture. Other objects will be added to the series on an ongoing basis.
D.O. 1
Hard, a wooden cube of birch plywood, is designed to be used as a table or a sculpture ( as shown above) This table / sculpture is available on a commission basis with colors as shown or custom colors.
Soft, of upholstered foam, can be made similarly to the prototype, to serve as a soft sculpture / cushion-pillow; or structurally reinforced in the main section to serve as an occasional table with a lumbar pillow. This object is available on a commission basis with custom fabrics and colors.
1 Baker’s Dozen No 1, 2021
2 Baker’s Dozen No 7, 2021
3 Baker’s Dozen No . 5 , 2021
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 4.25 x 8 x 8 in
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 4.25 x 8 x 8 in
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 4.25 x 8 x 8 in
4 Grand Autumn , 2017 Graphite and gouache on cold press, 22.25 x 22.25 in
5 Hello CC , 2017 Graphite and gouache on cold press, 19.5 x 19.5 in
6 Semaphore , 2017 Graphite and gouache on cold press, 22.25 x 22.25 in
7 Growth Strategy, 2017
Graphite, gouache and acrylic on cold press, 22 x 22 in
8 Signal , 2017 Graphite and gouache on cold press, 22.25 x 22.25
9 Prayer for Balance 2 , 2019 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
10 Prayer for Renewal , 2020 Graphite and gouache on paper, 5 x 7 in
11 Prayer for Resolution, 2020 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
12 Prayer for Order ( Rt a ) , 2019 Gouache and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
13 Prayer for Grace , 2020 Gouache and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
14 Prayer for Safe Passage, 2020 Liquid pencil, graphite, acrylic and gouache on paper, 5 x 7 in
15 Prayer for Protection , 2019 Gouache and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
16 Prayer for Home , 2021 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
17 Prayer for Tranquility, 2020 Gouache, ink and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
18 Prayer for Dispelling Darkness , 2019 Gouache and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
19 Prayer for Clarity, 2019 Gouache and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
20 Prayer for Understanding , 2019 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
21 Prayer for Transmutation, 2021 Graphite and liquid pencil on paper, 5 x 7 in
22 Prayer for Regeneration, 2021 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
23 Prayer to Return , 2019 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
24 Prayer for Plenty ( Lakshmi’s Sta r ) , 2020 Gouache, liquid pencil, graphite and punctures on paper, 5 x 7 in
25 Antahkarana for K , 2019 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
26 Prayer for Coherence , 2020 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
27 Prayer for Resilience, 2020 Graphite and liquid pencil on paper, 5 x 7 in
28 Prayer for Equanimity, 2020 Gouache, liquid pencil and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 in
29 Anandi’s Cube , 2020 Concrete and acrylic media and bamboo on styrofoam, 12 x 12 x 12 in
30 Things I Don’t Know, 2020 Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 14.25 x 29.5 x 11.25 in 31 Barker, 2021 Concrete and acrylic, 12 x 12 x 12.25 in
32 Hello World , 2021 Concrete and acrylic on styrofoam, 6.25 x 9.75 x 9.75 in 33 Sluggo , 2019
34 Joy Diffuser, 2021
Concrete, acrylic media and bamboo on styrofoam, 12 x 12 x 12 in
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, Q-Tips and bamboo, 21.5 x 12 x 12 in two components
Concrete, acrylic media and iron oxide on styrofoam, 18 x 9 x 9 in two components 36 Rare Bird , 2019
35 Monument , 2019
Concrete, Flashe, bamboo and acrylic media with flocking on styrofoam, 19.5 x 6 x 4 in with stand 37 Yellow Stack , 2020
Concrete, acrylic media and bamboo on styrofoam, 14 x 6 x 6 in two components 38 Yellow Stack 2 , 2019
Concrete, bamboo, Flashe and acrylic media on styrofoam, 14 x 6.25 x 6.25 in two components 39 Transmuter, 2021
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, Q-Tips and bamboo, 25.25 x 14 x 14.625 in two components 40 Solar Plexus Charger, 2021
Venetian plaster, acrylic media and iron oxide on styrofoam, 34.75 x 19.5 x 21 in two components 41 Tuner, 2019
Concrete, acrylic media, bamboo and iron oxide on styrofoam, 16.5 x 8.25 x 9 in two components 42 Tiger Beat , 2019
Concrete, acrylic media, bamboo and flocking on styrofoam, 10.75 x 6 x 6 in two components 43 Bazooka Joe , 2019
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 10.75 x 6 x 6 in two components
44 Raspberry Beret , 2019
46 D.O. 1, 2021
47 D.O. 2 , 2021
Relief for Sohan Qadri , 2013
Concrete, acrylic media, bamboo and flocking on styrofoam, 10.75 x 6 x 6 in two components
Concrete, acrylic media, bamboo and flocking on styrofoam, 10.75 x 6 x 6 in two components 45 Ernie , 2020
Acrylic on birch plywood, 22 x 22 x 22 in two components
Acrylic on birch plywood, 22 x 22 x 22 in two components
Acrylic and canvas on hardboard, 12 x 12 x 2.5 in not pictured
Baker’s Dozen No . 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 , 2021
Concrete and acrylic media on styrofoam, 4.25 x 8 x 8 in not pictured
KIM MATTHEWS
American
b. 1965, Anchorage, Alaska
1967 – 1984, lived and worked in Maine
1984 – Present, lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kim Matthews makes nonobjective drawings and sculpture in various media. The frequent use of accretion to develop her works evolved from practical concerns — the need to be productive with little available studio time — and spiritual ones, as repetition is evocative of the mantra meditation that structures her daily life. The recipient of a 2010 – 2011 Jerome Fiber Artist Project Grant, Ms. Matthews exhibits in nonprofit and commercial venues throughout the U.S. In 2017, she participated in her first international exhibition in Ukraine. Her work is featured in Lark Books’ 500 Paper Objects and Artistry in Fiber, Volume II: Sculpture, published by Schiffer.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am interested in the ineffable qualities of “objectness” — what is sometimes called aura — as well as materiality and process as vehicles for spiritual engagement. My work is rooted in a long-term meditation practice; making drawings and sculptures is a complementary discipline of devotion. I use tactility to draw the viewer into the work and toward introspection through the seduction of intense looking.
Although the 108 Series drawings are comparatively quiet — a kind of art medicine — they have a kinship with the exuberant sculpture in this exhibition despite their origins in very different experiences. In addition to the obvious shared formal qualities of geometry, tactility, and evidence of the hand, each series is the product of a healing process spurred by profound loss. The drawings are influenced by the Tantric drawings of Rajasthan in their format, simplicity, and potential use for prayer or contemplation. They tend to emerge in response to current world events or personal ones; I’ve made them throughout the Australian wildfires, COVID, and the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, for instance, although they began in response to a breakup of a long-term relationship. They are not topical, however.
The sculptures are increasingly revealing themselves as analog to a soul-retrieval process. They were prompted by a desire to reclaim my most comforting childhood memories and express affection for the illustrators and designers whose work informed my early visual lexicon — Peter Max, Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast — and the brightly colored design objects I yearned for: inflatable furniture, the Panasonic Toot a Loop radio, and Op-art prints. They are also influenced by the art of the 1960s and early 1970s; in particular, post-minimalist artist Eva Hesse is a touchstone, as she is for so many women.
© 2021 Douglas Flanders and Associates and Kim Matthews / All Images are Courtesy of Kim Matthews, kimmatthewsart.com Photography Tim Rummelhoff Photography, timrummelhoff.com Design Syril McNally, syrilmcnally.com Printing Smartpress, Chanhassen, Minnesota, smartpress.com