Chason Matthams
Chason Matthams' focus is on capturing the ephemeral experience of consciousness and pointing to its fragmentary nature. While at first glance his paintings seem to be contemplative experiments in mimesis, prolonged looking reveals threatening undertones. Matthams\u2019 employs specific combinations of colors, angles of perspective, and exhaustive detail to anthropomorphize each of his subjects, rendering them just barely sinister. Flitting between mechanical and organic objects, Matthams\u2019 exacting brushwork is the connective thread leading our eye through every sumptuous detail.\n\nMatthams graduated with a BFA in Fine Art from New York University in 2004 and an MFA from New York University in 2012. Previous solo exhibitions include Glimpse, Magenta Plains, New York, NY (2022), A Hell for Rainbows, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, NY (2019);\xa0Advances, None Miraculous, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, NY (2015); and Tyler Wood Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2019, 2013). He was included in\xa0Blossom, a three person exhibition with Ted Pim and Marisa Takal organized by the Tong Art Advisory at the Artron Art Centre, Shenzhen, CN (2021); and his work was included in Artforum\u2019s \u201cPortfolios\u201d feature in March 2020.\n\nPrevious group exhibitions include\xa0Stockholm Sessions\xa0at Carl Kosty\xe1l, Stockholm, Sweden (2021);\xa0Nature Morte\xa0at The Hole, New York, NY (2021); Cynthia Daignault\u2019s\xa0The Certainty of Others, Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY (2017);\xa0L\u2019IM_MAGE_N, Ashes/Ashes, New York, NY (2017);\xa0Break Out, Fr\xe9d\xe9ric de Goldschmidt Collection, Brussels, Belgium (2015); and\xa0Beyond the Pale, Interstate, Brooklyn, NY (2014).\n\nThe book mentioned at the end of the interview is The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, a 2009 book written by psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist\xa0that deals with the specialist\xa0hemispheric functioning of the brain.\n\nChason Matthams, Corsage (aqua, blue, pink), 2022, Oil on linen over panel, 24 x 30 in., 61 x 76.2 cm. Courtesy the artist and Magenta Plains, New York.\n\nChason Matthams, Untitled (RED, Sebastian rig - slider), 2021, Oil on panel, 72 x 60 in., 182.9 x 152.4 cm. Courtesy the artist and Magenta Plains, New York.\n\nChason Matthams, Untitled (Fuji GX680, orange/purple), 2022, Oil on linen over panel, 36 x 29 in., 91.4 x 73.7 cm. Courtesy the artist and Magenta Plains, New York.