Mattea Sklut

Curatorial Rationale

A PATCHWORK

My work does not exist under one all-encompassing thematic umbrella. It is a patchwork, so to speak, of myself and my surroundings. The work is representative of different aspects of my life and that of others, both tangible and abstract. They are conditions I have either experienced, observed, or learned of. Most impactful to my conception and creation of artwork has been my anxiety and stress and how I cope and embrace it as a constructive tool. Meanwhile, other pieces have been an expression of my societal observations of how we view and treat different people, subjects, and ideas. 

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The common element in the vast majority of my artwork has been color and texture. I have always held color to be a vital element of conveyance in artwork. In creating and observing art, I find color or the lack there of to be principal in the artist’s message. More recently, texture has become instrumental in my artwork. I found textures to be a means of calming myself in the midst of being anxious. It was this personal connection that drew me to implement texture in my artwork, through embroidery and acrylic paint. The viewer reaction while I progressed in these works proved to be reflective of my own experience. People would stare and touch the pieces, often saying they felt relaxed or entertained by it. These two simple concepts, color and texture, became fundamental to my art making process.

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The selection of works in this exhibition are not necessarily cohesive. Some go together in groupings very while they seem unrelated to other works. This contributes to the “patchwork” nature of my art, as well as what I believe to be the most important part of my work over the past two years: progression. I find that displaying this element of my art is vital to my exhibit. It is through these displayed artworks that a true patchwork of my artistic development is shown.

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The artwork is displayed to stand out, as well as compliment surrounding artworks. No similar pieces are hung too closely together unless connected thematically or by a series. All the while, the viewer may travel through the exhibit from any direction and see a wide variance of engaging artwork.