Matt Schwede

What do you get when you cross a paperback with expansive foam?  Actually, what don't you get? or like what you get?  But afterall it's difficult to follow the process or thinking behind a work of this type without knowing a little more or having seen, previous work by Matt.  Which begs the question do we need to know the past history of an artist's oeuvre to better understand his/hers present work OR should art stand alone and speak for itself - a debate for some other time perhaps.  I believe in this case, and I would hazard that Matt would agree with me, it's more about labels or labelling, sort of like Coca-Cola a marque déposé something like name recognition, adopting a style or look that eventually becomes a household name.  Example: Pollock = drip paintings, Picasso = Cubism to ad nauseam..  So in Matt's case, he would be considered the expansive foam artist.  The hope would be that by the next time you see an artwork made with or using expanding foam insulation as a medium, it would be Matt's.  To better understand the concept, check out the piece Matt installed at the
H O [U S E] - H O [M E] project site in Brookland.  Anyway, it gives new meaning to the expression "bête comme un peintre"