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Kim Matthews makes nonobjective sculpture and drawings in various media, emphasizing process and materiality as a vehicle for reflection. 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. Ms. Matthews was born in Anchorage, Alaska, grew up and attended college in Maine, and has been living in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1984.
Published on April 1st, 2025. Artist responses collected in months previous.
Talk about some of the logistics of your art practice. What systems do you have in place to help streamline your workflows?
As someone deeply engaged in process, I'm not really sure how to answer this. I'm not making products. That said, I also don't have as much studio time as I'd like, so I'm strategic and try to be realistic about what I can get accomplished in a given work session. In the past I've used a modular approach, so I'd make a bunch of components and put them together as time permitted. Now I just break projects into chunks and do what I can with what I have. Sometimes I work on more than one work at a time, but I don't really like that. What I'm doing is so high focus, about developing a relationship with the forms and materials, and thinking about finishing, it doesn't always make sense. Right now I'm really focused on letting the work unfold and don't touch anything unless I'm fairly certain I'm making the right decisions. One of the studio photos shows a piece I'm mapping out now.
What is some advice for someone who does not have any experience who would like to pursue a career like yours?
I can't imagine someone who would want to pursue a career like mine! My entire life has been shaped by limitations and accidents, and whatever sense of control I have is probably an illusion. Anyway, things are changing so much that I feel utterly incapable of giving anyone advice other than that if you're going to commit to a life in art, you'd better mean it. You'd better have an almost delusionally optimistic outlook and a high tolerance for uncertainty. Also, a trust fund would be nice.
What was the lowest point in your art career and how did you overcome those adversities?
That's been the story for the last three years. I've been in survival mode; worrying about paying my mortgage and what I'm going to do when I get too old or obsolete to earn a living (which is not that far off) isn't exactly conducive to forging ahead. I think about giving up and then wonder how I could possibly hold my life together after that. This is all I've ever wanted to do--I just wasn't counting on the financial struggle. But to answer your question, I haven't gotten much out of the studio since my solo show three years ago, and trying to force it doesn't help. I'm rethinking everything, including how my work develops. I wasn't all that prolific before, but now my work is becoming much more considered. I'm trying to do more with less. I'm trying to get more impact into my work. And I'm trying to figure out how to get help for planned projects and the resources I need to work on technical skills.
How did you come into the type of artwork you are doing now?
That's kind of hard to answer. I began doing 3D work in handmade paper sculpture years ago (see hanging sculpture in studio photo #1), and there were many problems with that in terms of time, the ad hoc construction methods I was using for armatures, and the fragility of the works. They were lightweight and relatively inexpensive to ship, but also delicate and hard to clean. At that time, my dear friend John Rummelhoff, who I've mentioned in previous interviews, was making a lot of mixed media paintings and reliefs using stuff he got at the hardware store in addition to traditional art materials. I learned a bunch of stuff, including concrete surfacing, from him, and applied the concrete to 3D foam constructions. I didn't think much of it at the time but I've been making those pieces for years. What has changed is the increasing importance of drawing to the sculptures and how I mess around with negating or playing up the form, and how the components talk to each other. And now I'm working on a piece that will integrate some new materials.
What was an epiphany in your art practice that took you to the next level?
I don't know about levels; it's just always here and now. The older I get, the more I think progress is an illusion. Since I've been making and exhibiting work professionally - now over 25 years - everything is day by day, incremental, and 99% intuition. I think everyone has their own path, and some people are content to imitate, while others have to go their own way, into the wilderness. Some of my work is more successful than others. That's the only epiphany. If you keep working long enough, some stuff turns out pretty good--and it's always a surprise.
Talk about some of the logistics of your art practice. What systems do you have in place to help streamline your workflows?
As someone deeply engaged in process, I'm not really sure how to answer this. I'm not making products. That said, I also don't have as much studio time as I'd like, so I'm strategic and try to be realistic about what I can get accomplished in a given work session. In the past I've used a modular approach, so I'd make a bunch of components and put them together as time permitted. Now I just break projects into chunks and do what I can with what I have. Sometimes I work on more than one work at a time, but I don't really like that. What I'm doing is so high focus, about developing a relationship with the forms and materials, and thinking about finishing, it doesn't always make sense. Right now I'm really focused on letting the work unfold and don't touch anything unless I'm fairly certain I'm making the right decisions. One of the studio photos shows a piece I'm mapping out now.
What is some advice for someone who does not have any experience who would like to pursue a career like yours?
I can't imagine someone who would want to pursue a career like mine! My entire life has been shaped by limitations and accidents, and whatever sense of control I have is probably an illusion. Anyway, things are changing so much that I feel utterly incapable of giving anyone advice other than that if you're going to commit to a life in art, you'd better mean it. You'd better have an almost delusionally optimistic outlook and a high tolerance for uncertainty. Also, a trust fund would be nice.
What was the lowest point in your art career and how did you overcome those adversities?
That's been the story for the last three years. I've been in survival mode; worrying about paying my mortgage and what I'm going to do when I get too old or obsolete to earn a living (which is not that far off) isn't exactly conducive to forging ahead. I think about giving up and then wonder how I could possibly hold my life together after that. This is all I've ever wanted to do--I just wasn't counting on the financial struggle. But to answer your question, I haven't gotten much out of the studio since my solo show three years ago, and trying to force it doesn't help. I'm rethinking everything, including how my work develops. I wasn't all that prolific before, but now my work is becoming much more considered. I'm trying to do more with less. I'm trying to get more impact into my work. And I'm trying to figure out how to get help for planned projects and the resources I need to work on technical skills.
How did you come into the type of artwork you are doing now?
That's kind of hard to answer. I began doing 3D work in handmade paper sculpture years ago (see hanging sculpture in studio photo #1), and there were many problems with that in terms of time, the ad hoc construction methods I was using for armatures, and the fragility of the works. They were lightweight and relatively inexpensive to ship, but also delicate and hard to clean. At that time, my dear friend John Rummelhoff, who I've mentioned in previous interviews, was making a lot of mixed media paintings and reliefs using stuff he got at the hardware store in addition to traditional art materials. I learned a bunch of stuff, including concrete surfacing, from him, and applied the concrete to 3D foam constructions. I didn't think much of it at the time but I've been making those pieces for years. What has changed is the increasing importance of drawing to the sculptures and how I mess around with negating or playing up the form, and how the components talk to each other. And now I'm working on a piece that will integrate some new materials.
What was an epiphany in your art practice that took you to the next level?
I don't know about levels; it's just always here and now. The older I get, the more I think progress is an illusion. Since I've been making and exhibiting work professionally - now over 25 years - everything is day by day, incremental, and 99% intuition. I think everyone has their own path, and some people are content to imitate, while others have to go their own way, into the wilderness. Some of my work is more successful than others. That's the only epiphany. If you keep working long enough, some stuff turns out pretty good--and it's always a surprise.
Find Kim Matthews on Instagram
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