Matthew Hilyard
Region: West
City / State: Andover, KS
I consider myself a formalist, and as such constantly face the
struggle to create compositional balance. The very idea of
balance helps give clarity and purpose to my life as an artist. My
work is a response to, and an attempt to understand, the chaotic
world around me. I seek the rarity of the profound. I have no set
agenda when I start each work. I begin with a layer of paint or a
structure, and from that point on, it’s all about process: making
marks, applying materials, responding to each action with a
reaction. I allow the work to evolve and become a visual record
of the profound moments that come from dragging a nail across
a painted surface to make a sensual line, applying a small dot
of paint that demands the viewer’s attention, or adding tape
and glitter to convey the artist’s tactile experience. My work is
informed by the history of art, especially the work of the abstract
expressionists.
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