mat tomezsko: 2015

The City Real & Imagined: Urbanism, Identity, and Identification

At The Painted Bride Art Center

January 23 - March 8

Opening Reception February 6, 5-7pm

Poetry reading and performance with CAConrad and Frank Sherlock: Thursday, February 5, 7 – 9 pm
Talk and Book Signing with Richard Ross: Saturday, March 7, 1 pm

Featuring:

Amze Emmons

Jesse Krimes

Drew Leshko

Roberto Lugo + Mat Tomezsko

The exhibition features five artists who make art inspired by their direct environment. For our contribution, Roberto Lugo and I created a collaborative project entitled I Was Of Three Minds: Understanding America Through Bluebirds and Blackbirds, in which we each explore the role of external factors such as race and class on the formation of identity and self-perception. This collaboration marks the evolution of our thinking after first exhibiting together in the Juvenile In Justice exhibition at the Crane Arts in November 2013. It is also a part of InLiquid’s Art For Action program, which uses art exhibitions as a platform for dialog, community events, and social awareness efforts.

Here are some samples of my work for the exhibition:

There Are Too Many Heavens To Ever Tell, spray paint and acrylic on canvas, 2015

Somewhere This Is Sisyphus, spray paint and acrylic on canvas, 2015

In addition to the abstract paintings, I created a series of portraits of family, friends, neighbors, and strangers painted on mirrors entitled Self-Portrait As A Bluebird, Self-Portrait As A Blackbird