langley_portrait

An Atlas Adventure

I’ve been thinking about place and process and where a friction might start between the two. I realized that this idea was akin to developing a system or a “catalog of effects.” I thought of that catalog as an “Atlas.”

When I think of the term “Atlas,” mapping is the clear standard; however, I also think of timelines and choices. Traditionally we know an atlas to be a book or portfolio of maps. In the modern era, atlases have become a source for detailed information about a particular subject or place – this expansion of information is what has interested me.

That overlap, mapping and information, place and process, is the germane kernel for the title “Atlas.” I view this as the result of a process that is questioned, documented, changed and eventually a realization that the entire process is never finished. What is leftover are markers to observe and gauge the decision points of the process along the way.     – October 2013

On Developing New Images.

The artworks come from a series of divergent strategies. One of building and extending – the other of reducing and minimizing. These disparate approaches are not a way to impose meanings on the work, but can be viewed as a metaphoric crossroads. This crossroads is about extending the relationship of these different approaches, while at the same time allowing the viewer the liberty of time for further reading of the work. The image making that comes from this strategic foundation will be clear, concise and rational, while at the same time allowing for a sense of community and/or contemplation to develop in and around the artworks.

The artworks are not linear narratives, this allows the element of time to be stretched or compressed to accommodate the viewer. This flexibility towards time as well as environment allows the artwork to reveal itself in slower and calmer ways than an artwork that is based only on the relationship of drama and detail of the forms presented inside of it, while allowing those with a more compressed timeline to react to the base elements of the composition and painterliness of the overall approach.

This open ended approach is central to the artworks I create and allows them to be developed with a non-specific exactness.       – February 2009

On Names.

Titles have become critical to my work. Primarily they re-establish a connection to the visible world and hopefully trigger a series of associations and ideas that are related between the artwork and the connotation in the viewers awareness. I avoid the descriptive and ordered approach (blue, or number 12, etc.) as well as using “untitled”. I view titles as an approach to open the viewer to a thought process that may influence the subject at hand. This could be viewed as a shorthanded poetry or similar device that allows further thought in connection to the viewers experience of the artworks.      – January 2009

 

BIO

Matthew Langley was born Alexandria, Virginia and studied at Virginia Commonwealth University and received a BFA from The Corcoran School of Art. His work has been exhibited internationally and is included in major collections in the US such as Ernst and Young, DC Commission for the Art and Humanities, MacAndrews & Forbes and The Doris Patz Collection (University of Maryland). Recent exhibitions include; Blank Space (New York, NY), The Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art and The Delaplaine Arts Center (Frederick, MD). Upcoming exhibitions include; Susan Calloway Gallery (Washington, DC) and DM Contemporary (NYC) . Mr. Langley’s artwork has been covered in publications such as Art in America, The Washington Post, The Washington Citypaper and news sources such as National Public Radio.

He lives and works in New York.

 

CV

 

ONE AND TWO PERSONS EXHIBITIONS

2014     Looking In: New Artworks, Axom Gallery, Rochester, NY (Dec 2014)

2013     Place and Process, Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington DC

2012     Atlas, Blank Space, New York, NY.

The Expanded Field, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick MD
Arcades, Warm Springs Gallery, Charlottesville, VA

2011     Atmospheres & Imaginary Soundtracks, Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington DC

2010     The Series: Matthew Langley + Heejo Kim, Blank Space, New York, NY

Color Autonomy, University of Maryland University College, Curated by Robert Donovan

Angel Dust: Matthew Langley + Douglas Witmer, No Future Projects, Dayton. Ohio

2009     Simple, Difficult., University of Baltimore, Baltimore MD

2008     New Paperworks, Green Line Projects, Philadelphia PA, Curator: Douglas Witmer

Paintings + Paperworks, DCAC (District of Columbia Arts Center), Washington DC,

Curator: J. W. Mahoney

1994     New Paperworks, GO! Gallery, Arlington VA

1993     Channel Surfing and Blueprints (Drawings, 1993), GO! Gallery, Arlington VA

 

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS AND EVENTS

2014     Fiction, Neon Heater, Finlay OH, Curated By Jeffrey Cortland Jones

g/s (grams per second), No Future Projects, Dayton. Ohio, Curated by Max Feldmann and Erin                       Elayne

Summer Exhibition, Blank Space, NY, NY

2013     The 25 Project, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington, DC, Curated By No Kings Collective

Sketchbook, School 33 Art Center, Baltimore MD. Curated by René Treviño

Back to Mine, Neon Heater, Finlay OH, Curated By Jeffrey Cortland Jones

Right and Other Angles, SoftSpot, online at: www.soft-spot.net, Curated By Jeffrey Cortland Jones

Summer Exhibition, Blank Space, NY, NY

2012     STROKE: Gesture, Mark, Muscle. School 33 Art Center, Baltimore MD. Curated by René Treviño                              Affordable Fine Art for Young Collectors, Susan Calloway Gallery, Washington DC.

As Far As The Eye Can See, Adam Lister Gallery, Fairfax, VA

Summer Exhibition, Blank Space, NY, NY

Beyond Measure, C2 Fine Art, St. Petersburg, FL

Works on Paper,University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, Curated by Jeffrey Cortland Jones.

Works on Paper,C2 Fine Art, St. Petersburg, FL

2011      New Year, New Work, New Faces, Storefront, Brooklyn, NY

Material World, Art DC, Hyattsville, MD, Curator: Stephen Boocks

Life Of The World To Come: Darkness Falls Upon Us, NIAD Art Center, CA, Richmond, CA,                              Curator: Timothy Buckwalter

2010     Blank Space Pop Up Gallery, Blank Space, Seoul, Korea

Six Months Twelve Artists: Paintings, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME

Informal Relations, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis, IN, Curator, Scott                    Grow

2009     Business Edition, Pocket Utopia, Brooklyn, NY

Touch Faith, Semantics, Cincinnati, OH, Curator, Jeffrey Cortland Jones

Avant Fairfax, Old Town Hall, Fairfax VA

Art-0-matic, Washington DC

The Sketchbook Project, Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA.

Travels to:  Museum of Contempory Art DC, Wash. DC          Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA

Antena Gallery, Chicago, IL                                      Soulard Art Market, St. Louis, MO

3rd Ward Gallery, Brooklyn, NY                              Chicago Art Source Gallery, Chicago, IL

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), Atlanta, GA

2008     Art-0-matic, Washington DC

2007     Art-0-matic, Crystal City VA (selected as part of the Colorfield Intermix at Artomatic)

Twelve By Twelve, Chop Suey, Richmond VA

White on White, Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth TX, Curator: Cecil Touchon

2006     Hon Fest / After Hours, Smith Content, Baltimore MD

MOCA DC at 15, MOCA DC, Washington DC

Close to Solitude, Current Gallery, Baltimore MD, Curator: Marshall Clarke

2005     Frederick 19th Annual Photographic Competition, Mary Condon Hodgson Art Gallery, Frederick                    MD

Twelve By Twelve, ADA Gallery, Richmond VA

After Hours, Smith Content, Baltimore MD

1995     Hemicycle Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Wash. DC, Curators: Marsha Mateyka & Sally                           Troyer

Summer, Foundry Gallery, Wash. DC, Curator: Alice Denny

Summer Paintings, Eclipse Art Center, Arlington VA

WPA Salon, Washington Project for the Arts, Washington DC

Paper, The Athenaeum, Alexandria VA, Curator: David Levy

 

PRESS

2014    Lisa Pressman Art Blog, Matthew Langley Studio Visit

2013    Two Coats of Paint, Studio visit: Matthew Langley and the palette knife, Sharon Butler

               bmore <art>, Sketchbook at School 33, Allison Gulick
Washington City Paper, The 25 Project, By Christopher Porter

2012    Two Coats of Paint, Extending and reducing: Matthew Langley at Blank Space, Sharon Butler
Elan Magazine

Frederick News Post, Creating Space, Lauren LaRoca

Frederick Gazette, Field Opens at Delaplaine, Feb. 2

2011    NPR (National Public Radio) WAMU 88.5 Art Beat with Eric Rameswaram

Elan Magazine, Polar Approaches, Article by Donna Cedar-Southworth

2010    The Washington Post Express, Field of Dreams: ‘Washington Color and Light’ at The Corcoran,
Jessica Roake

The Gazette (Maryland)

The Bowie Star

Joanne Mattera Art Blog, Color Forms Part 1

 

2009    Elan Magazine, Alice Ross

The Moleskine Blog, Update: The Sketchbook Project Vol. 3 , Armand B. Frasco

DCist, Arts Agenda, Heather Goss

Joanne Mattera Art Blog, Three Smart Projects

Lisa Pressman Art Blog, Matthew Langley’s Art Influences

2008    Art in America, Washington DC, J. W. Mahoney

Washington Post, Sunday Source – Can’t Miss

CityPaper, Matthew Langley, Painting + Paperworks, Kriston Capps

Old Town Crier, Gallery Beat, F. Lennox Campello

DCist, Matthew Langley @ DCAC, Kelly Rand

Two Coats of Paint, Matthew Langley’s dangerous proposition, Sharon Butler

Thinking About Art, D.C. Gallery Shows, JT Kirkland

Douglas Witmer Blog, Matthew Langley, Douglas Witmer

Stephen Alexander Blog, Matthew Langley Painting, Stephen Alexander

Arttistics, Artomatic Baby!, F. Lennox Campello

 

 PUBLICATIONS

 White on White: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Cecil Touchon, Published by: The                                   International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction

 Notebook, Creative Capitalism

 

EDUCATION

1985     BFA, Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC

 

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Ernst and Young

MacAndrews & Forbes

DC Commission for the Art and Humanities

The International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction

University of Baltimore

The Doris Patz Collection (University of Maryland University College)

PNC Bank

 

SPEAKING

2008     Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington