Kim Matthews makes nonobjective drawings and sculpture in various media. The frequent use of accretion to develop her works evolved from practical concerns—the need to be productive with little available studio time—and spiritual ones, as repetition is evocative of the mantra meditation that structures her daily life. The recipient of a 2010-2011 Jerome Fiber Artist Project Grant, Ms. Matthews exhibits in nonprofit and commercial venues throughout the U.S. In 2017, she participated in her first international exhibition in Ukraine. Her work is featured in Lark Books’ 500 Paper Objects and Artistry in Fiber, Volume II: Sculpture, published by Schiffer.
Published on May 19th, 2022. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
That's kind of a hard question. I just spent the last however many months preparing for the biggest solo show I've ever had-almost 60 works-and am in the middle of an existential crisis. My five-year contract gig ended days before I had to hang my show, too. So I don't have a steady source of major income and I don't know if I'm making any sales. I don't know what's going to happen. On the other hand, I've made some moves toward expanding my practice and my audience. I worked with professional fabricators to produce high-quality prototypes of a hybrid sculpture-furniture object made in wood and a soft version that I'm hoping people will really like. I'm offering them on a made-to-order basis and just getting into fabric designs for the soft version. I've been toying with fabric design since my brother and I experimented with hand painted and Speed Screened fabrics in the late '80s. I'm particularly thinking about drapery, upholstery, pillows. I want all the things I make to be things that people live with.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
I had a really strong, important year. I'm a hardcore introvert and find it exhausting to be around people for any length of time, so being able to work from home was amazing. I got a couple hours back each day to spend in the studio in addition to a nice, peaceful workday in an environment I can control. Plus, my office is in my studio space, so I'm around my work all day and can kind of just soak it all up and let it run in my brain as a background process.
At the same time, my city is trashed and we are heartbroken. We got through the Derek Chauvin trial and the jury did the right thing, but the issues around institutional racism, police brutality and corruption, and the trauma of being invaded by violent Trumpists from outside our neighborhoods who blamed the destruction on BLM and "Antifa" is still reverberating through our community as we try to rebuild. The only thing worse than that experience was how long it took to convince people from other places that we didn't do this to ourselves. They only started to get it when the same thing happened to them.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
As I mentioned, my routine has been turned upside down because I have to spend so much time looking for paying work. I have to kind of switch among job hunt, freelance work, mental and physical health maintenance, and domestic stuff and structure my day based on what's most urgent. I don't have any significant exhibitions scheduled in the near future, so I'm mostly in thinking mode: analyzing the feedback I'm getting from my current show, researching opportunities, considering next steps, envisioning what I want the next phase of my life to look life. I'm usually up by 5:00 to shower, do yoga, meditate for a half hour, coffee, and get to the desk to check emails and whatever. Lately, I'm a little less structured, but trying not to get into bad habits of staying up past 9:00 and sleeping past 5:30. I need coffee and music and just enough news to have a handle on things. My workspace isn't particularly noteworthy. I've always wondered why people are interested in that; it just never occurs me to ask anyone where their studio is or to look down at an artist if their studio is at home.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
In no particular order and with a broad definition of "helpful:" CaFE, Submittable, Hyperallergic, Artnet, College Art Association, Brooklyn Rail, public library, Tyler Green's Modern Art Notes, Wright/Rago auctions, Golden Paint website, ARTnews emails, I Like Your Work podcast. I'm sure there are tons I'm forgetting. I believe that people find what they need when they need it, so the greatest resources are curiosity and flexibility. As I think about broadly domestic objects, I've been reading and watching everything I can find about the sculptor/architect/painter Tony Smith these days, for instance.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I'm looking forward to further developing the vital skills one needs to live well: flexibility, adaptability, willingness to embrace the unknown, compassion for oneself and letting go of the urge to judge constantly. I so want things to settle down and to be comfortable for a while, but that's just not going to happen for the foreseeable future if at all.
I'm also looking forward to finding the next big project and getting hanging onto it for dear life, whether that's some product development stuff or another solo or two-person show, or both.
My goals are to get my work to the people who need it and to find support for my overall project of making and distributing art that is medicinal but not didactic or preachy. I'm playing the long game.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
That's kind of a hard question. I just spent the last however many months preparing for the biggest solo show I've ever had-almost 60 works-and am in the middle of an existential crisis. My five-year contract gig ended days before I had to hang my show, too. So I don't have a steady source of major income and I don't know if I'm making any sales. I don't know what's going to happen. On the other hand, I've made some moves toward expanding my practice and my audience. I worked with professional fabricators to produce high-quality prototypes of a hybrid sculpture-furniture object made in wood and a soft version that I'm hoping people will really like. I'm offering them on a made-to-order basis and just getting into fabric designs for the soft version. I've been toying with fabric design since my brother and I experimented with hand painted and Speed Screened fabrics in the late '80s. I'm particularly thinking about drapery, upholstery, pillows. I want all the things I make to be things that people live with.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
I had a really strong, important year. I'm a hardcore introvert and find it exhausting to be around people for any length of time, so being able to work from home was amazing. I got a couple hours back each day to spend in the studio in addition to a nice, peaceful workday in an environment I can control. Plus, my office is in my studio space, so I'm around my work all day and can kind of just soak it all up and let it run in my brain as a background process.
At the same time, my city is trashed and we are heartbroken. We got through the Derek Chauvin trial and the jury did the right thing, but the issues around institutional racism, police brutality and corruption, and the trauma of being invaded by violent Trumpists from outside our neighborhoods who blamed the destruction on BLM and "Antifa" is still reverberating through our community as we try to rebuild. The only thing worse than that experience was how long it took to convince people from other places that we didn't do this to ourselves. They only started to get it when the same thing happened to them.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
As I mentioned, my routine has been turned upside down because I have to spend so much time looking for paying work. I have to kind of switch among job hunt, freelance work, mental and physical health maintenance, and domestic stuff and structure my day based on what's most urgent. I don't have any significant exhibitions scheduled in the near future, so I'm mostly in thinking mode: analyzing the feedback I'm getting from my current show, researching opportunities, considering next steps, envisioning what I want the next phase of my life to look life. I'm usually up by 5:00 to shower, do yoga, meditate for a half hour, coffee, and get to the desk to check emails and whatever. Lately, I'm a little less structured, but trying not to get into bad habits of staying up past 9:00 and sleeping past 5:30. I need coffee and music and just enough news to have a handle on things. My workspace isn't particularly noteworthy. I've always wondered why people are interested in that; it just never occurs me to ask anyone where their studio is or to look down at an artist if their studio is at home.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
In no particular order and with a broad definition of "helpful:" CaFE, Submittable, Hyperallergic, Artnet, College Art Association, Brooklyn Rail, public library, Tyler Green's Modern Art Notes, Wright/Rago auctions, Golden Paint website, ARTnews emails, I Like Your Work podcast. I'm sure there are tons I'm forgetting. I believe that people find what they need when they need it, so the greatest resources are curiosity and flexibility. As I think about broadly domestic objects, I've been reading and watching everything I can find about the sculptor/architect/painter Tony Smith these days, for instance.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I'm looking forward to further developing the vital skills one needs to live well: flexibility, adaptability, willingness to embrace the unknown, compassion for oneself and letting go of the urge to judge constantly. I so want things to settle down and to be comfortable for a while, but that's just not going to happen for the foreseeable future if at all.
I'm also looking forward to finding the next big project and getting hanging onto it for dear life, whether that's some product development stuff or another solo or two-person show, or both.
My goals are to get my work to the people who need it and to find support for my overall project of making and distributing art that is medicinal but not didactic or preachy. I'm playing the long game.
Find Kim Matthews on Instagram