WORKS | EXHIBITION IMAGES | PRESS RELEASE | ARTIST PAGE

Matt Rich’s paper based paintings eliminate the stretcher bar and float directly on the surface of the wall. Using basic geometric shapes as building blocks, Matt’s slightly askew forms create tension between surface and depth, intention and accident, gesture and geometry. As the show’s title, Patriot and Hatchet, implies person, tool and action, Rich’s finished pieces hint at the touch and move of the artist in studio. Upon close inspection, the works reveal carefully cut and merged joints that denote their assembly, as well as the folds, nicks and dents that are historical marks of their creation. With dog-eared gumption Rich’s constructions defy notions of what a painting, work on paper or art object is assumed to be.

Rich received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA from Brown University. He has had solo exhibitions at Project Row Houses in Houston, devening projects+editions in Chicago, the Suburban in Oak Park, IL, Samsøn Projects in Boston and the VOLTA/NY art fair. In 2010, he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and was a finalist for the James and Audrey Foster Prize at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Rich’s works are held in numerous private and public collections including the List Visual Arts Center at MIT and The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. His work has been reviewed by Modern Painters, Artforum, Art Papers and The Boston Globe. The artist lives and works in Boston.
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