We are excited to announce our new Artist Spotlight series, where we regularly feature a story or interview highlighting a local artist and member. 

We are thrilled to introduce Matthew Monk and share the interview we recently conducted. 
 

Q&A Interview June 2024

Q: How would you describe your current art and the path that brought you here?

Matthew:  "I make collage/mixed media pieces that often incorporate printed ephemera and discarded/found objects and materials. My work explores the relationship between control (perfection, intentionality, precision) and accident (imperfection, mistakes, and spontaneity).

I am a graphic designer by training, and I’ve spent 30 years teaching design at Rhode Island School of Design and Vermont College of Fine Arts. My art is definitely informed by my experience in graphic design. I use many of the same tools and processes we use in the design field in the analog days before computers. I love the physicality of making the work and, and the tactile quality of the resulting objects.

One branch of my work uses geometric, orthogonal grids, like modernist painters such as Piet Mondrian or Richard Diebenkorn, while another branch uses messy, loosely structured systems, like Dadaists and Neo-Dadaists Kurt Schwitters and Robert Rauschenberg. I really love to mash up these two approaches."

Q: How long have you been doing art, and how did you get started?

I started making art in the early 1990s, just when computers were taking over in the graphic design world. While I embrace computers professionally and as a teacher, I missed making messy, tactile objects with my hands. So, after teaching and designing all day, I began making collage at night in my basement in Providence, Rhode Island, and I never stopped. Making work in my studio satisfies my spirit in ways that nothing else ever could."

Matthew: "I am very new to Winston-Salem and joined AAWS in April of this year. My wife and I are both originally from North Carolina and moved away right after college almost forty years ago. First, we moved to Washington DC, and then to Providence, RI, and Montpelier, VT.

We returned to NC in December 2023 to be closer to friends and family. As soon as we got settled, I began to look for ways to engage with the creative community here in Winston, and I found AAWS through Google. I was impressed by all the opportunities for exhibiting work and meeting other artists socially. In just a couple of months, I have participated in two shows and have begun to make friends with other members. So, the wonderful folks at AAWS are doing something right!"

Q: How does Winston-Salem inspire your art?

Matthew: " It feels so good to be back home in North Carolina and in Winston specifically. I have always loved the South–its food, architecture, and, of course, the people. And Winston has all those things we were looking for.

One thing that has been incredibly inspiring to me has been the landscape and vegetation. I did not know just how much I missed certain plants while I was living in New England, and how much I would appreciate them when I came back. One of the first things I did at our house here was to plant a Magnolia Grandiflora in our yard. I’m looking at it as I type this response. I can’t really explain just how satisfying it is to have a Magnolia growing right in my yard after so many decades where it simply was not possible."

Q: What's next for you?

Matthew: "From what everyone says, apparently, I’ll be spending a lot of time cleaning up after my Magnolia!

I’ve been setting up my studio and have begun a full-time practice making art. I consider it a great luxury to have the time and space to dedicate to this work. One thing that I have always struggled with in my work is color. I have seriously conflicting feelings about color. On one hand, I feel drawn to monochromatic compositions using nuanced whites, ivories, grays, and beiges. And on the other hand, I feel drawn to explore more vibrant colors. I plan to continue to explore my complicated relationship with color, hoping I can uncomplicate it for myself through the work."

Q: What's one random fact about you that might surprise people?

Matthew: "I have always collected rusted objects and am particularly fascinated by springs. I have a collection of springs, displayed in our living room, with the largest being 5 feet tall. I think my wife deserves some kind of medal for allowing that."

To learn more about Matthew and explore his art further, you can visit his website at www.MatthewMonk.net or find him on Instagram at rustedmm