We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Mahler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Reflecting back, I grew up in a stable household; my father was a high school art teacher and my mother waited tables a few nights a month before going back into teaching full time when I was in high school.
Though we had our fair share of disagreements and arguments, I give my parents full credit for creating consistency and routine as well as instilling both my sister and myself with a good work ethic. There was a lot of structure in our home and the rules were clear; we had to finish our homework before going out to play and we had to do our part before there was free time. Daily chores were a constant for us growing up. I don’t think they were anything crazy, just the typical make your bed, take out the garbage, clean your room kind of tasks. However, my parents were strict about our doing things the “right way” or else we had to do them over until we did. To this day, I approach any task thoroughly and rarely cut corners. Attention to detail is something that I believe, sets my work apart from some other artists.
TV time and time spent playing video games was extremely limited in our home. We didn’t have cable TV or a computer until I was a teen which was around the same time the internet was becoming a more common feature at least in our community. This meant that I spent my formative years, (up until age 14), quite frankly, bored. My parents would certainly attest to this as I reminded them frequently. Luckily boredom leads to exploration which fed my general curiosity. I spent much of my free time outside playing with the neighbors, exploring the woods and basically looking for any opportunity to stay busy. I was generally a rule follower which kept me out of serious trouble (mostly) and I learned a lot by just playing around with whatever I could find. I’d spend days working on building forts or tree houses that would ultimately be destroyed by the next passing storm, only to re-build them the next day. I’d say my genuine curiosity is what keeps me active in my studio to this day. I love a good project and have been creating art related problems for myself to solve for the past 25 years.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Matthew Mahler and I’m originally from Long Island but currently reside in Queens, NY. Having had two teachers for parents, significant value was placed on education in my home. My father taught art and every year he would take the family to museums and theatrical performances in Manhattan. There was never a shortage of art supplies in the house (I’m forever grateful) and I remember spending a lot of time drawing as a way to relax. I spent my childhood splitting my free time between drawing and playing sports, but it wasn’t until late high school that I fully committed to making art. Though my dad taught art, he definitely never pushed art making on me, just rather supported it when I showed interest. I think this approach was critical in creating my genuine interest in it.
While pursuing a degree in art education during college, I decided that in order to teach art most holistically, I would first have to live it. I moved to Queens, and earned an MFA in Painting and Drawing. Making art serves to help me better understand the world around me. A process that is inherently time consuming, painting forces me to slow to a pace that often feels more manageable than that of urban life. Ultimately the studio serves as a laboratory where I freely experiment with new processes and explore ideas that I find most baffling or curious. Recently, my work has come to reflect a shared experience of viewing through the lens of technology.
Feel free to visit my website for images and to get a sense of my process: www.MatthewJMahler.
For many years I supplemented my income working in the art world as a picture framer and art installer but ultimately transitioned to teaching art. At this point, I am a college professor and teaching artist both publicly and privately. I tutor students of all ages and abilities but focus mostly on working with students building art portfolios for HS and college applications. My ability to connect with students combined with my general love of art making and art history definitely set me apart from other teachers. I do my best to meet each student where they are in order to devise individual teaching strategies for each learner and genuinely enjoy getting to know them. For inquiries, feel free to contact my teaching website at www.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being able to share my work is in itself an honor, but a major part of the reward comes from offering the viewer an alternative to the status quo by encouraging them to slow down and formulate their own resolution while looking.
I make work in response to this shared moment in our society, a place where we are all moving in different directions and at drastically different speeds, often consuming data perfectly tailored to our palettes and tastes. As a culture, we’re constantly trading mindfulness for mindlessness and immediacy has never been more coveted. I’ll admit, I am very much a participant in this exchange and often opt for convenience over the alternative.
I see choosing to make paintings at a time in history when advanced technology is so readily accessible, offering countless alternatives to communicate, as an act of defiance, a silent protest against what mass culture demands. My painting process is slow, one that requires modification, which often only comes after extended periods of contemplation and scrutiny.
When I present a cohesive body of work, I offer the viewer an alternative experience to what they are accustomed to, first by giving them the opportunity to participate in creating meaning from something that has been intentionally left open ended, but also through required slow looking.
I have always marched to a different tempo and painting allows me to continue to traverse my life along my own path. When anyone looks at my work they become complicit in my experience which is something I relish in; forcing my viewer to slow down, look, contemplate and wonder, behaviors that are becoming increasingly less common and more radical a notion for us all.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
I wouldn’t say I have a specific goal other than to make work that feels approachable and accessible beyond a typical “art-viewing” audience. I realize this is a big ask considering that I’m an abstract painter, however I do think there are ways and this is something that is always topic of mind from where I draw inspiration to how I select materials.
My current body of work is inspired by society’s collective experience with technology, specifically the digitized TV, computer, tablet or phone screen. I often incorporate readily accessible materials and approaches into my process in an attempt connect with hobbyist and “non-artists” alike.
In 2019, I staged a project at my Brooklyn studio that invited visitors to participate in a guest-generated installation of paintings on one of my studio walls. Each participant was tasked to interpret instructions for “how to make an abstract painting” via wikihow.com and were provided with material in exchange for photo documentation of their process. My initial intention was to give studio visitors a richer experience as they engaged with the same prompts that I had while making my then, most recent body of work. The resulting installation served to demystify and democratize the abstract painting process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.matthewjmahler.com www.ArtPortfolioDevelopment.com
- Instagram: @MatthewJMahler , @ArtPortfolioDevelopment
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-mahler-128b712