Mathew Zefeldt

Region: Midwest

Website: http://mathewzefeldt.com

City / State: St. Paul, MN

This work explores the idea of monomania: an inordinate or obsessive interest in a single thing, idea, or subject. The multiplication of objects throughout the composition and from painting to painting references the speed and ease with which one can reproduce identical images in Photoshop. I am interested in performing software operations in the traditional medium of painting. I am inspired by drag-and-drop gestures in digital technology, the picture-within-a-picture found in FaceTime, iPhone homescreen images, and desktop arrangements on laptops. The paintings have awkward figure–ground relationships, where objects float in shallow space, as if they were positioned in post-production using a green screen or cut out using the Magic Wand Tool.

I take on the role of juggler while painting—one who is skilled at keeping several elements engaged at once. I work with a specific cast of characters that come from my surroundings, video games, art history, and popular culture. All these elements function as marks in a composition that reflects the composite nature of my present-day existence.