Matthew Chambers
Deep Thoughts and Cool Memories
Rough-hewn constructions, bold parodies, chunky representations.
Bozeman, 2021
Chambers has shuttled down the hill, as it were, from his studio and exhibition space at Brackett Creek, to our gallery walls in downtown Bozeman. Deep Thoughts and Cool Memories comprises elongated mixed-media paintings with just the right amount of dirt and adhesive from their former pig-farm origins.
A rural provocateur who is not "poking the bear" to disrupt for disruption's sake, but rather, allowing for ample visual space to re-frame our relationships with institutions and cultural reference points; he is seeking meaningful conversation. Chambers is a delight to get to know: a self-proclaimed sincere artist, whose best practice in art-making is being honest in concept and application; this work is refreshingly unapologetic and heartfelt.
Stay awhile in the conversation and you'll find there's more delight and nuance.These 12 paintings inspire a visual parry, whereby Chambers' internal monologue is evaded by the viewer in a desire to take them, face value, as rough-hewn constructions, bold parodies and chunky representations. The title references the one-liner aphoristic jokes of humorist Jack Handey and the aphoristic diaries of post-structural theorist Jean Baudrillard — the bridges, Chambers says, from culture to art that he intuitively formed his practice around, and has now returned to.
Installation views
Sincere artist, rural provocateur.
Matthew Chambers makes monumental mixed-media paintings — four feet wide, eight feet tall, a format he has worked with since 2007 — from his studio and exhibition space at Brackett Creek, Montana, a former pig farm whose dirt and adhesive find their way into the work. His practice draws on the aphoristic humor of Jack Handey and the aphoristic diaries of Jean Baudrillard: bold parodies and chunky representations that reward anyone willing to stay awhile in the conversation.
Chambers moved to Montana in 2016 after years of exhibiting nationally. Deep Thoughts and Cool Memories was presented with the support of Marinaro Gallery, New York, which represents his work.