Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Stanners

Hi Matthew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

I started painting while an undergraduate studying finance and entrepreneurship at University of Pennsylvania. I was motivated to take a few art history courses during my sophomore year after encountering Mark Rothko’s Seagram Murals for the first time in the basement of Tate Modern. I think that I felt the emotional poignancy of fine art for the first time and was curious to learn about the history and interpretation of visual art. I came to admire many late modern and mid-century painters like Clyfford Still, Helen Frankenthaler, Cy Twombly, and Jasper Johns. I felt that their work was a call to action for those compelled to create something spectacular. It was an opportunity for discovery to someone who needed to communicate with themselves in a new way. After graduating with a business degree and a real estate development job, I had about a year and a half to teach myself how to paint before leaping into faith, quitting my job and trying to live everyday like an artist searching for the light and wonder in my environment.

Four years I have been steadily cultivating and stewarding my work, trying to keep in mind that sustainable longevity is the goal. I hope to inspire others to search for hope, bravely and openly. Curiosity keeps me engaged and searching for opportunity to realize spectacular moments on and off the canvas. This mission provides me direction and motivation to endure struggles as well as experience the joy of successes. The message requires strength in vulnerability and humble determination, so I hope to do it justice by continuing to host dynamic art exhibitions, engage intimate conversations, and fulfill my community with joyous discovery.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

There are definitely struggles. Pretty much every step of the creative process is a struggle, but it is also intensely rewarding and enjoyable. I work to accept the burden of taking creative agency in the world: the insecurities, oppositional forces, required emotional and physical energy, etc. Even though I find it ultimately valuable, facing a blank canvas and working through an incomplete composition can be an antagonistic relationship at times. Organizing and hosting my own art shows is difficult and comes with many struggles, failures, and learning opportunities. Everyone struggles, but its the pursuit of what is good that redeems the harsh realities of life. The magic of the human spirit is that we can be relentless in the face of struggle. Acknowledging that offers me some sense of freedom or leverage over whatever particular struggle is present in my journey.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I make abstract acrylic paintings. I think my aesthetic is recognizable for bold, energetic colors formed in simple, refined composition. One of my favorite descriptions of my work is that it communicates “hopeful desperation.” I think this is sometimes the emotional basis for my creative process. With each piece I begin with no idea where to go, but in hope that I come across something I have yet to encounter. There must be some new information in order for the end product to embody the process of discovery. This is the basis for my personal philosophy around humble curiosity. I feel that each work is in someway a depiction of the viewer’s own curious and creative gaze. When someone engages their personal associations to the image and realizes their own agency in creating the world, this is the spectacular moment and an event where both the individual and the work is transformed. Of everything in my life, this moment of expanding an individual’s perception of self and other is what I am most proud of.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I am always excited to meet and talk with people who are interested in engaging in conversations of discovery, art, and science. I love that a product of my journey has been the opportunity to engage with curious and creative people from all walks of life, all over the world. I work to create community with those who fight for life, search for light and aim to inspire. I also sell my work direct to clients, so please feel encouraged to contact me via social media or email for details on purchasing work and/or custom commission pieces.

Pricing:

• Private Commissions ~ $2,000-5,000
• Series & Gallery Works ~ $500-2,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mattstanners.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewcstanners/