Matthew Rose takes his "spelling with scissors" to high dada form in his latest wall-to-wall installation, Confessions, Obsessions & Indiscretions, mixing memory and desire with linguistic high-jinx and aesthetic mastery of paper, glue and a pair of scissors.
"Confessions" is the artist's first exhibition at Soma Gallery and it brings together fresh works on canvas, such as The End of the World series, Fluxus-inspired objects (tri-colored mouse traps, signed, dated and numbered; porcelain bibelots wrapped in electrical tape and Duchampian-puzzles in DYI form). But the heart of the installation are the collages, of which there are nearly 1000 detailing in sometimes heartbreaking narratives, the artist's take on politics, sex, death and the plaintive ethos of contemporary creation: "There is no reason for anything."
MAY 9 - JUNE 14, 2008 Artist Opening Reception - Saturday, May 9th, 6-9 PM.
Soma NewArt Gallery is pleased to present Confessions, Obsessions & Indiscretions, new and selected works by internationally recognized collage artist MATTHEW ROSE. His "confessions" are visual and lexical rebuses in the form of multi-layered collages, influenced by artists ranging from Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell and Ray Johnson. He will also present his large-format print series, A Perfect Friend.
Rose, an American who has lived in Paris since 1992, has exhibited throughout Europe and the US, most recently in Berlin in his "Kick in the Kunst" show and in Atlanta in a show entitled "The End of the World." Known for his wall-to-wall "all over" collage installations, Matthew Rose aims at visual exhaustion and "extraordinary fun," he says. The exhibition at Soma New Art Gallery promises both and more. The artist will also read from his novel, PLAN B, at the opening. Don't miss it. Matthew Rose's work was recently included in Black Dog Press' COLLAGE (2008) and will be featured in Lark Publishing's Masters of Collage (2010).
MATTHEW ROSE - EXHIBITIONS, PRINTS, OBJECTS & PUBLICATIONS
2009 Red Dot Fair, Miami, December Book About Death, Emily Harvey Foundation, NYC 2008 After Taste, The Wall Gallery, Berlin, Germany Anonymous Zeichner No. 9, Berlin, Germany Serendipity, Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France The End of the World, Wm Turner Gallery, Atlanta, GA A Kick in the Kunst, Galerie Rossella Junck, Berlin, Germany Anonymous Zeichner No 8, Otterndorf, Germany
Buddhism Tourism, (Essay), Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France Trap Souris, boxed mousetraps, edition: 39 (Red, White & Blue); 7 (Gold). Publication: Mister Rose’s ABC BOOK, Lalande Digital Press Paris COLLAGE, Black Dog Publishing, UK (September 2008).
2007 Small Works, Gallery in the Field, Brandon, VT Days Like These/Immaculate Perception: Prints @ Keep Calm, Essex UK Group Show, Galerie Tristesse Deluxe, (Wallstr.) Berlin, Germany AIDES Benefit, Yvon Lambert, Paris, France Americans in Paris, Honfleur Gallery, Washington D.C. My Stuff, My Friends’ Stuff, Some Other Stuff, Max Mulhern, Paris, France WISH YOU WERE HERE 6, A.I.R. Gallery, Benefit, NYC, NY Versteckte Anzeigen, Galerie Tristesse Deluxe, Berlin, Germany The Whole Truth, Gallery in the Fields/Fran Bull Gallery, Brandon, VT Affordable Art Fair , Royal College of Art, London, UK,, (Art Vitam) Blooze Deux, Cave des Papilles Installation/Vitrines, Paris, France
Film: A Kick in the Kunst (Working Title), Documentary Feature on Matthew Rose by Jennifer Giovanni
PRINT SERIES: Days Like These, 2007. Lalande Digital Art Press
2006 Spelling With Scissors, Capsule Gallery, Denver, CO LA To Paris, Anyway Gallery, Berlin, Germany IVY at The Louvre, Paris, France Anonymous Drawings, Bluetenweiss Gallery, Berlin, Germany Herzschmerz, Tristesse Deluxe, Berlin, Germany Lullabies & Alibis, The Affordable Art Fair, NYC, NY (Art Vitam) Lullabies & Alibis, Part 2, Apsara, Paris, France
The Blooze Show, Papilles, Paris, France Real pARTy Benefit, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT Re-reading the Comix, Again, Sutter Gallery, SF, CA Full Circle/Random Journey (Book exhibition), U. of Northampton, UK
“Girl Trouble,” Print Series, Burning Boy Books, Paris, France Versal/Wordsinhere, publication, Spring 2006, Amsterdam, Netherlands Stormhoek Wine label (Napoleon/Boucher) for IVY Paris, Paris, France Venice Artist Residency, Emily Harvey Foundation, Venice, Italy “Days Like These,” Book: Venice-Paris (New collage works/book)
Michael Paglia, Art Beat, Westword (23 Nov., 2006), Denver, CO. UK Art Blog, Installation, Spelling With Scissors, Dec., 2006) Art Blog – Fallon & Rosof, A Paris Visit With Matthew Rose, Dec. 2006 Art Blog – Fallon & Rosof, Paper, Scissors, Glue, Dec. 2006
2005 Planting Cut Flowers, Pleins Feux Sur Ivry, Ivry/Seine, France PARIS/LA, Cache Contemporary, Curated by Whitey Flagg, Los Angeles, CA For Everyone and No One, Mail Art, MOCA, Miami, FL QUIXOTE, (400 Years), Talavera la Réal, Spain Portable Art/Portable Peace, Koa Gallery, Honolulu, HI “Wish You Were Here IV,” A.I.R. Gallery, NYC, NY Bedtime Stories, Flying Space Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY Moonstruck: HK Artist's Biennale 2005, Club 64, Hong Kong Overture, Art Vitam Gallery, Miami, FL Bridge Magazine Art Auction, Chicago, IL IVY Artists, IVY Gallery, Paris, France Beware the Ides of March, Asylum Gallery, Sacramento, CA Collage Series, A Perfect Friend, Art Vitam Gallery, Miami, FL Coronary, Ruth Crnkovich, Chicago, IL Baker’s Dozen, New Zealand Infinity, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA AXIS OF EVIL, Nexus Gallery Philadelphia, PA AXIS OF EVIL, Glass Curtain Gallery, Columbia College, Chicago, IL Post Modern Trends From Around The World, Hanoi, Vietnam
2004 The Art of Writing and Books, Art Vitam, Miami, FL Mystery Masters POST CARD SHOW, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Miami, FL The 4th Dimension, Art Pool, Budapest, Hungary Kunst Macht Dick, Factor 44, Antwerp, Belgium Postcards From the Edge, Brent Sikkema Gallery, NYC, NY draw_drawing, London Biennale, Gallery 32, London, UK A Flame For the Olympics, Athens, Greece; curated by Ianna Andreadis “Wish You Were Here III,” A.I.R. Gallery, NYC, NY "Is Mail Art Dead?" UCN Gallery, Northampton, UK Errata and Contradiction, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Reversing Vandalism, (Book: Dear Betty), SF Public Library, SF, CA Frida Kahlo, Trezzano Rosa, Milano, Italy “Ray Johnson & Postal Art,” Strutts Gallery, New Brunswick, Canada “RIEN” - Axis of Evil, book on Stamp Art (Michael Hernandez de Luna/Qualiatica. Chicago, IL) A Perfect Friend, Calumet College of St. Joseph, Whiting, IN
Book: BOY’S LIFE (Burning Boy Books) Book: MONDIAL CAFARD (Burning Boy Books) Book: GOD (Burning Boy Books) Edition 10. Published by Lalande/Paris. Book: Sainte Rose, with John Bennett, (Burning Boy Books) Book: Unmuzzled in Paris (Burning Boy Books/Unuzzled OX Michael Andre)
Mail Art Show Feature; Interviewed by Kurt Andersen on WNYC Radio, Studio 360, NYC, NY
2003 The Merry Merry Christmas Show, Clemence Heugel, Paris, France Postcards from the Edge/Visual AIDS Benefit, Galerie Lelong, NY Kyoto Biennale (SLOWNESS: Shozo Shimamoto/Mail Art), Kyoto, Japan FADE TO PINK/Lizbekistan Book Launch: Marriage Performance, Paris AMAZING FESTIVAL, The Contents of My Wallet, A Reading, Paris, France Mail Art in Paris/Paris Fantasy, Espace Beauregard, Paris, France A Perfect Friend, Gallery 72, Omaha, Nebraska Stencils: The Art of Negative Spaces, The Crucible Steel Gallery, SF, CA Pour l’Amour des Chiens, Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France Unoccupied Territories, K&S Gallery, Berlin, Germany Ready For War, Illinois University Galleries, Normal, Illinois Passion, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine Je Veux, (Book) Onestarpress, Paris, France
Print: Double Queen Bitch, Show & Tell Editions, Edinburgh, UK (ed: 21) Print: Queen Bitch, Printed at University of Omaha, Nebraska (ed: 45) Prints: A Perfect Friend (37 large format prints; ed: 3 each). Book: A Perfect Friend (110 color collages). Book: The Chicken Book (Collection: Doris Rose). Book: All the World’s a Stage I’m Going Through Book: Yaya’s Surrealist Alphabet Book (Burning Boy Books) Publication: Vortice Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina (magazine)
Articles: Stalin (From Mail Art in Paris), VSD, Paris, France Artension: C’est Quoi Le Mail Art?
2002 Lost & Found, Aebel, Mayers & McHale, Paris Internationales Mail Art-Projekt. Loreley 2002, Germany Paintings, Boca Raton Museum, Boca Raton, Florida (Print Series) Scared But Fresh, Manifesta (Free Manifesta/Sal Randolf) Frankfurt, Germany Collages, Max’s, (Group Show) San Francisco, California More Girlfriends, Au Vin des Rues, Paris, France Girlfriends, Godefroy de Virieu, Paris, France CornuCopiae, De Garage, Space for Contemporary Art, Mechelen, Belgium
Film: Mail Art, 52 minutes, Christian Balmier, Director/Writer Books: People; Fresh; Egg; Ass; Man Slut. (Unique books on paper).
2001 Buddha Pest Control, Factor 44, Budapest, Hungary Number 7, Factor 44, Antwerp, Belgium
Book: Von Spatzl’s Secret Drawings (Plan B - Novel). Book: Little Black Book Book: M’eggs.
1999 Paintings, Mayers, Aebel & McHale, Paris, France 50 States (Mailed), Gallery Expresso, Savannah, Georgia New Zoo (w/Keith Donovan & Kathryn Greene), Galerie éof, Paris France.
Book: "BASS LIFE" Publication: KANSAS (50 States Series): CONTENTS Magazine, Atlanta, GA
1998 Bedroom/Bathroom Gallery (Ulla Kartuunen), Paris, France 100 Collages, Jean-Louis Cleret, Paris, France
1997 FIAC, Happy Hour, Galerie Elisabeth Valleix, Paris, France Bedroom/Bathroom Gallery, Paris, France Dumb Bunny, WWW.LIZBEKISTAN.COM Cité Internationale des Arts, Group Show, Paris, France Publication: Page: Hammer & Nail, Vacarme, Paris, France
1996 Venividi Grand Bazar de Noel (Beata Malmquist), Paris, France La Phrase Rose, Street Installation, Rome, Italy ROSE LAVE PLUS BLANC, Ivry/Seine, France About Face, Homer, Alaska (Mail Art) Johannes Kepler, Weil Der Stadt, Germany (Mail Art) Textos de Barcelona, (Affiches) Street Installation, Barcelona, Spain
Publication: Dumb Bunny, Vacarme, Paris, France
1995 A Meeting For Ray Johnson, American Church, Paris (Curator) The Blue Sentence, Ivry/Seine, France COLLAGE OF THE MONTH CLUB, Street Installation, Basel, Switzerland
1994 Your Message Could Easily Be Here, Ivry/Seine, France
1993 Bouteilles Chiffrées, Ivry/Seine, France Timbres d'Artists (Michel Hosszù), Musée de la Poste, Paris, France The Dead Show, Homer, Alaska
1992 Summer Camp, Gallery Stendhal, NYC, New York Kings & Queens, Fresno, California (Mail Art)
1991 Chassis Serigraphiques, w/Michel Hosszù, Isabelle Bongard, Paris, France "Moi, je viens pisser dans la piscine." w/Michel Hosszù Isabelle Bongard, Paris, France THE MAIN STREET SHOW, Port Washington, New York Publication: "Like Most Americans." (photocopy/watercolor: ed. 75)
1990 Quao Series, Chinese Collages , Russell Steinert, NYC, New York Greene Summer '90, Cedar City, Utah Worldwide Mail Event Petition #6 "Nothing," NYC, New York (Ongoing)
1988 Long Island Artists (Juried), Wunsch Art Center, Glen Cove, New York
1987 "Some More Stuff," Sandra Gering Gallery, Oyster Bay, New York
1986 Long Island Artists, Bryant Library, Roslyn, New York Western Suite (Paintings of the West), AREA, NYC, New York
1984 "Holy Moly," Paintings, Merrick Library, Merrick, New York
1982 "Stuff," Bell Gallery, Brown University, Rhode Island Essays/Articles
Richard Brown, Rutland Herald, Dada Lives in Brandon, 18 July, 2008 Michael Paglia, Westword, Matthew Rose: Spelling With Scissors 11 Nov., 2006 Best End to a Daydream, Westword, Spelling With Scissors Dec., 2006 Carlos Luis, Collage Series, El Nuevo Herald (Miami), Jan. 30, 2005 Steve Mayo, Artist Alchemy, CLOSER, November, 2004 Skip Sheffield, Artist Makes Rare Visit to Florida, Boca Raton News, Oct. 3, 2004 Leslie Prisbell, An American in Paris, Omaha Pulp, 2003 Nina Zivancevic, Lost & Found, The Eternal Rose, 2003 Allison Hersh, Return to Sender, Savannah Morning News, 1999 Garrett Siegel, The Poetics of Disaster, (catalog). 1998 Christopher Mooney, Words, 2000 Julian Gautho, Rose Lave Plus Blanc (catalog). 1996 Lisa Snedeker, Green Summer ’90 (USF actor returns pen pal in world-wide mail-event), Daily Spectrum, Cedar City, Utah, July 20 1990
Education
Brown University, B.A., Semiotics, 1982 Animation Film Studies, Rhode Island School of Design, 1980
