Krzysztof Mathews
Maker Monday - December 2023
About the Artist
Name: Krzysztof Mathews
Medium: found object assemblage, digital media
Years creating: From a young age
SCAA member: 14 years
Based in: Kingston, RI
Website: firstgearterritories.com
Facebook: krzysztof.mathews "
Instagram: @kolschey
Click an image to view slideshow
If you've been to our openings, you've likely seen Krzysztof with camera in hand, photographing the festivities. He has been involved with SCAA since 2012, exhibiting every year and winning his fair share of awards. We've invited Krzysztof to take part in past Members Invitationals, and he is a dedicated member of our exhibition hanging crew. His assemblage work can be mind-boggling in it's creativity, and his digital art is just as impressive. - SCAA
Where are you from, and what do you make?
I was actually born and raised right around the corner here on Old North Road in Kingston, RI.
The work I create is in two major media. I am a sculptor who works in found object assemblage, which I create from broken or discarded objects such as toys, hand tools, kitchen utensils and various non-functioning electronic items. I also work in digital media, using some of my original found object assemblage sculptures as models to rebuild as three-dimensional CAD models in the computer. These virtual models can then be positioned, posed, lit and rendered as the basis for a series of vector illustrations created in Adobe Illustrator and printed to a large format.
What inspires you to create?
A great deal of my inspiration comes from science fiction, fantasy, and comic art. Indeed, the original “Star Wars” from 1977 was the first movie I ever saw in a theater, so you can imagine the impact it had on me! I also have a great love for the Japanese printmakers of the Edo period, with Hokusai and Kuniyoshi being two of my absolute favorites!
How long have you been seriously pursuing art?
I was raised in a very supportive environment for creative pursuits. My mother, Freda Mathews, was a ceramic artist and longtime member here at SCAA, and so I have fond memories of playing in clay from a young age here. When did I really begin to choose art as a path? Likely in high school, where my dedication to my work ultimately brought me to RISD to earn my BFA in Illustration (1995). A couple of years later, I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for my Masters degree. It is there that I was introduced to the digital technologies that I continue to use today.
Which artist outside of your chosen medium has had the most impact on your art? What do they do and in what way do they influence you?
Another great question that actually brings me back to my formative years here at SCAA..
My first true art mentor was a man named Jim Visconti (for whom the Visconti Sculpture Award here at SCAA is named!). He had been a professional artist and designer who worked for years in New York City before moving down to Rhode Island in the mid-late 1980s. What was amazing about him is that he had the ability to immerse himself in a new medium and master it. He was a proficient draftsman and an award-winning painter who also worked in sculpture. When he came to Rhode Island, he had not seriously worked in ceramics before, and yet within a couple of years he was creating beautiful ceramic sculptural pieces that evoked a sense of ancient artifacts of great power and majesty. He was always looking to improve his craft and learn new techniques, and he had a real sense of timeless vision in all his work.
Is there a work of art that has changed your life or how you view the world in some way?
I think that it is very hard to single out one artwork, as every strong piece that I encounter has that ability to make subtle or significant impact on my perception. Ultimately, that is a goal of art– to evoke that change or substantial response in the viewer. If I were to make a list of all these many artworks and their effect upon me, I reckon it could be a very long essay, if not a book!
As a member of SCAA, what do you like most about us?
The community. Absolutely the community.
Many of the fellow artists here at SCAA are people I have known for years, even back to the days spent in the company of my mother here back in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
I also find myself making friends with new people that I meet in the course of my interactions at SCAA. I think there is a real sense of shared history here, and a very capable team that keeps the whole organization running so effectively. I also am heartened by the robust educational programming. I have told more than a few URI students about the wonderful resources and opportunities here!
Tell us a joke:
Here is a VERY nerdy one for you..
Werner Heisenberg is driving down the road when he gets pulled over by a traffic cop.
“Excuse me, sir,” the cop says. “Do you know how fast you were going?”
“No,” Heisenberg replies. “But, I know exactly where I am.”