Artist Matt Foley - portfolio, studio, gallery

If you are interested in acquiring artwork by Matt Foley - CLICK HERE to access select offerings.

A Statement - April 2009

     "People frequently ask me what kind of artist am I. That is a complicated question that defies an easy answer. Personal history reveals that I am a painter, a sculptor, a ceramicist, a printmaker, a photographer, a writer, a poet, a silversmith, a goldsmith, a lapidary (gemstone cutter), a scrimshander (etchings on ivory or bone), and an inlayer. I have also worked with stained glass and have been a leatherworker. I have been recognized for graphic design. No particular medium has ever fully captured my solitary attention. Accused of being a kind of renaissance man, I will not deny a certain level of truth to that charge.

     "I have also been asked what 'kind' of art do I do. The answer is - all kinds. I have pursued a variety of explorations. In the area of painting -- abstraction, expressionism, representational avenues have generally captured my attention. First and foremost, I suggest I could be considered a "moodist" - which is a term my dear father coined to describe what I do. I do what my mood dictates. To a great extent, I follow my emotional nature. I am also an addict to color, to its intensity and interactive nature. I explore the variegated textures and nuances of my own zoetic presence and reality; my interactions with my conceptual nature; the existential - and to some extent - universal qualities of being human.

     "Radical purlieus polarities also play a significant role in my art. As I write this, I review the day. It was warm overnight and the day was definitely spring-like (up to 60+ degrees). At 5:00 p.m., a storm passed through and the temperature became somewhat cooler. More rain came around 11 p.m. It is now 1 a.m. and the ground is covered with snow. These types of extremes could be considered defining as many hold we are all a product of our environments.

     "Yet, many thoughts about myself and my art are question marks, unquantifiable ciphers. Any semblance of iconic certainty remains elusive. Perhaps this continuing inquiry makes me the artist that I am.

     "I could say these things in a far more complex fashion and interweave references to deep spirituality, or a depressive angst, or interactive societal considerations and offer a psychological exegesis on methods and motivations, but this an all-ages website so I have tried to state my position and describe my impulses with a certain simplistic alacrity."   M.F.

A recent self portrait, "Mr. Mojo Rising," Acrylic on canvas, 18"w x 24" h - from the series: The Consequences of Having a Tribal Mentality.

Matt Foley - heraldic calling card in the Victorian spirit

Below is an abreviated compendium of recent works by artist, Matt Foley.
Note of interest: If you click on an image, a window should open with a much larger image to reveal the work in greater detail. Be sure to close the window before clicking on another or the blowup window will be masked by your main browser window.

Matt Foley - The Marks of Man on the Hand of God

A vein of recent works centers on the extensive history and integral nature and role of painting as it relates to the hominid experience. Modern scientific determinations indicate that painting may stretch back at least one million years, preceding Neanderthals or Homo Sapiens (modern humans). It seems basic to life were the fundamentals - food, shelter, art on the walls...

Left: "The Marks of Man on The Hand of God" Mixed media on tempered board, 36" w x 30" h
Click the image for a larger view.

Left: "The Iconic Trek" 2008 - Mixed media on board, 30" w x 24" h

To travel back in time - CLICK HERE

"I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music." - Joan Miro