We recently connected with Shaden Matariyeh and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shaden thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One thing I learned in life is that the bigger the risk you take, the higher the reward. And that’s something I tried to live by through out my journey in every aspect of life. One of the biggest risks I took was moving to New York. I was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up mostly in Jordan after that. I moved to New York when I was 26, 3 years ago, because I was seeking a ‘higher reward’. Following my education in the German Jordanian University as a design and visual commutation student, having already been in the work field through corporate and through side passions like modeling and art (I modeled in Jordan for 10 years and had a 6 year career in digital marketing), something was still missing. After discovering my passion for painting, I was dedicated to make it my life path. I decided to move to New York to be able to explore the potential of my talent and my passion in a place that offers a higher ceiling than the place I grew up in. The moment I took that risk, was the moment that many unexpected doors opened for me. In retrospect I realize now that the key to any success is confidence and the true and utter believe in yourself. No matter how big the risk you take in order to achieve your goal knowing that there is a chance of failure, your self belief must be so unshakable that failure seizes to become an option handed to you, nor one you will ever accept, therefore success becomes the one and only place to envision and achieve.

Within less than a year of moving to New York and launching myself as a new and upcoming artist that no one has ever heard of before, I was able to make my way through the art and night life scene. I was hired and asked to be a participating artist along side very well known local and international DJs by live painting while they play their music all night while the crowd watches. My name grew and people started recognizing my work and linking it to me without me being in the room. That for me was one of the greatest achievements I can receive as an artist.

After I gained some recognition by the local community, I was able to have my debut solo exhibition as a professional. I had the incredible chance by being asked to officially launch my name and art in a two-showroom venue located in Dumbo called Archivio Records, one of the biggest and most well known record shops in New York, with 5 local talents that were so kind and generous to collaborate with me and share their musical talent through the opening day of the the exhibition.

The exhibition was an incredible success; it ran for an entire month, with 24 paintings showcased, 10 of which were sold. What an incredible feeling. To know that someone, even if it’s one person, was able to connect with my work on a personal level without knowing my background or the reasoning behind the work was a tremendously fulfilling experience and definitely one of the high rewards that I was hoping to achieve by moving here.

Although I don’t feel like I have reached my ultimate goal, I most definitely feel like I am climbing the ladder to get there. Painting is my passion and it’s my means of expressing things I will never be able to say or put into words. Not for the lack of the words, rather than the fact that some things are better felt than explained.

Life begins when you untie the ropes of fear. I don’t think I will ever regret any risks I choose to take, but one thing I know for sure, is that I will never regret taking the risk of foolishly and blindly believing in myself. :)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began my journey as a painter in 2018. I was going through a tough and critical phase in my life, and painting took me out of a dark place and made me feel hopeful for life again.

I started painting as a way to vent and release. But the more I painted the more I noticed how quickly my hands and brain can accumulate the knowledge and technique I need to achieve different things I wanted to achieve in my artwork, and that in itself was a big dopamine hit. The more I got confident with my hands, and the more I allowed my brain to completely be in auto pilot mode, that more progress I would see; the more I would be motivated to start the next piece. Each brush stroke I made was making me better and better as a painter. Once I began exploring my mind organically with no induced thoughts or expectations, and once I let go of radical self criticism and accepted that everything I produce an artist is a part of my identity and will shape journey, I started to blossom.

At the beginning of my career, I was turned down by a few exhibitions which I had tried to participate in to get my work out there and be seen. But that didn’t stop me from pursuing me dream. I made time for painting even though I had an extremely busy and hectic life. Between school, work and modeling, night time became my road to my end destination. I was producing a minimum of 4 paintings every week.

I managed to participate in one exhibition before moving to New York. It was held in the MMAG, a well established artist foundation in Jordan. The exhibition was held as a charity (50% of proceedings went to the cause) with 80 participating artists from all over the MENA region.

I showcased two paintings, which were sold to an art collector from Dubai.
That was the moment that I realized that the only thing that will stop me from reaching my potential, is me. I made an active decision to let go of my imposter syndrome that made me have so much self doubt.

Now that I began looking at myself in a different light as an artist, I naturally and organically developed my own style. I felt very connected with painting portraits that combined fauvism and expressionism. The genuine emotions I was able to portray through portraits made me fall in love with my work more deeply. The artwork I started producing had so much contradiction to it which made every piece so unique. Choosing vivid and bright colors while demonstrating an opposite emotion in the expression was the thing that made my work stand out. I learned color theory by trial and error, and to my surprise I was very natural at just knowing how to use the basic colors to create any color on the wheel I can think of. That opened great horizons for me, and gave me more confidence. Do you know how many colors you can make with just 3 basic colors? The possibilities are endless and were so interesting for me to explore.

I began to unfold the many layers of being a painter that no one tells you about. I learned more about my self by the colors that I was producing without thinking.

While I was working on the technical aspect of painting, I was also focused on working on the idea and concept behind my work, how to produce a full and cohesive body of work that said “Shaden Matariyeh” .
The more I tried to explain my work, the more I truly believed in the concept of “no explanation”. The thing that sets my work apart is that you can look at it and see yourself in it. It can take you back to a memory or to a place only you know. And I definitely didn’t want to interrupt this intimate interaction between the audience and my work by driving their emotions or thoughts to somewhere specific. I want the audience to be the master of the artwork, as well wanting the artwork to speak for itself and have its own momentum and power. When someone decides to own one of my works, it will speak to them so personally that no one can understand except them. Not even I want to know specifically where it takes them. For me that sets a tone of unlimited realities that hold mystery, and I find mystery extremely charming. That’s when a never ending love and connection falls into place between you and my work. And between you and I.

One thing that also strikes you when you look at my work is the technique in which I paint the eyes. Holding so much depth and feeling that sinks you in without you understanding how quickly it happens.

One of the most reaccurring comments I received about my work is about the connection and sting that attaches them once they take a deep intended look at them. That’s one thing that I am so proud to have achieved after many nights of experiments and trials. To reach a place where I am truly happy with the results that I can call my own, not just a result that I’m content with it as part of my journey.

The size of my artworks also has a great significance. Having this intense emotion being portrayed on large canvases makes the experience more deep. You feel yourself sinking into every stroke and every color shade that is layered on top of each other.

Reaching that point in Jordan, I knew that there has to be much more outcome to my work, and coming from a small city I felt very limited. Which lead me to explore my career in New York and achieve the things I have in a matter of two years.

I’m so proud of where I have reach so far, but the road is far from over. My dream is to own my private art studio, where I can explore my expression freely and full time with no interruptions. Having my own location to display my work freely and in the matter that I choose and feel happy with!
I want to build a name as a professional artist with a unique style that cannot be replicated.
I want to see my artwork in as many homes and locations as they can reach. and the ultimate happiness and fulfillment I will feel is when I feel the connection between my audience and my work; which is part of my soul.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Be active. Post. Share. Don’t think too much. Don’t polish too much. Your work will get to the right audience that it’s meant for. But most important is to be initiative and to always give your audience a piece of your mind through sharing your unfiltered product and process.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think something that is hard to understand is that with art, inspiration is never guaranteed. In my case, I will have a time where I am able to produce a certain amount of artwork with a certain quality. And there are times where I won’t be able to produce a single artwork that I am happy with for months. And that can be extremely frustrating. It’s not as simple as having a task that must be done at a certain time. Inspiration will knock at your door in the middle of the night, or completely abandon you for long periods of time with no warning. And that’s all part of the journey. Everything you look back at in retrospect must have a positive impact and outcome for your present and future and must be a stepping stone for your progress and growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://indd.adobe.com/view/3ce97108-1978-49a1-969b-db2a5b6f25ea
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shhadden/profilecard/?igsh=amZiMmg5Zml2b2F3
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/Cx4bY9Yhx3QojRzt/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadenmatariyeh?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits

Photographer : Kari Van Der Wal