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