Luke Matjas. Lost Ship of the Desert (Terracotta Cooler) 48” x 48”
What: Artist Talk with Luke Matjas
Where: Art 1A Visual Literacy
About Luke Matjas,
Originally hailing from the suburban outback of Orange County, CA, Luke Matjas has some expertise when it comes to colonized space and constructed narratives. Hearkening back to the willful chaos of early curiosity cabinets, his work investigates the ways in which natural and unnatural histories have again become intertwined and entangled.
The formats Matjas employs alternate between immense room-sized digital prints, site-specific installations, and intimate drawings. Taking his inspiration from antiquated pulp science books, natural history museums, and even the local Home Depot, his aesthetic explorations exist somewhere between Hieronymus Bosch and contemporary skateboard graphics. As a trail ultrarunner, he spends a great deal of time outside and traveling on foot, and many of his visual cues come from direct encounters with regional flora, fauna, and geology.
Luke Matjas has exhibited in museums, galleries, alternative spaces, and even scientific conferences. His work has been featured in Jeffrey Vallance’s experimental installations and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Ventura County. In 2015, Matjas served as the Artist in Residence in Joshua Tree National Park, where he alternated his time between a rustic off-grid cabin and many miles of twisting trails. His work has been included in exhibitions at the UC Davis Design Museum, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Longmont Museum in Colorado, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, and the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, CA. His first solo museum exhibition was at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oxnard, CA (2016).
Matjas earned his B.A. (1997) from the University of California, San Diego, and his M.F.A. (2002) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Professor of Art at California State University Channel Islands and he can usually be found running amuck, amidst the nearby Conejo Alps and the mighty Santa Monica Mountains.
Website: www.lukematjas.com
