UNTITLED (2005)

As shown at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, Massachusetts

MATTHEW SWARTS A DENSE, INTRICATE WEB OF BLACK AND WHITE LINES AND ABSTRACT SHAPES OVERLAYS A BLURRED BACKGROUND WITH SKIN-TONED AND NEUTRAL COLORS, CREATING A CHAOTIC, LAYERED EFFECT WITH A STRIKINGLY CONTEMPORARY DIGITAL AESTHETIC.

MATTHEW SWARTS A CONTEMPORARY GALLERY CORNER DISPLAYS EIGHT ABSTRACT AND EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHS IN BLACK FRAMES, ARRANGED IN TWO ROWS ON WHITE WALLS WITH A GRAY-CARPETED FLOOR. THE IMAGES FEATURE PATTERNS, TEXTURES, AND SOME BLURRED HUMAN FACES BY THE ARTIST.

I spend an inordinate amount of time collecting strange images from the web. Search engines have become like books to me: I cruise through literally thousands of pictures to download a few I find interesting. Out of curiosity, I began placing some of these images inside my photographs. At first, they were just pictures inside other pictures, but soon I began using the computer to create ‘screens’ that ‘covered’ digital photographs. The screens modulate and complicate the politics of looking, bending and submerging the narrative of the photograph.

On one level, the images here are about memory, desire, and perception. But really, I am simply in love with the way information is rendered by an inkjet printer. With my work I hope to create a layered seduction, drawing the viewer into the image far enough to scrutinize the very surface of the print. There, I believe, the mark making of the machine becomes as mysterious as the world.

Dimensions variable.

MATTHEW SWARTS A CLOSE-UP OF A PERSON’S FACE, PARTIALLY OBSCURED BY A PATTERN OF HEXAGONAL AND CIRCULAR GRIDS, CREATES A LAYERED, ABSTRACT EFFECT—REFLECTING MATTHEW SWARTS’ CONTEMPORARY VISUAL APPROACH.

MATTHEW SWARTS A PERSON'S FACE PARTIALLY VISIBLE BEHIND LAYERED, CHAOTIC DIGITAL LINES AND ABSTRACT HEART SHAPES CREATES A SENSE OF CONFUSION AND OBSCURED IDENTITY. THE OVERALL EFFECT IS GLITCHY, SURREAL, AND REMINISCENT OF CONTEMPORARY ART BY MATTHEW SWARTS.

MATTHEW SWARTS A PERSON’S PALE HAND AND ARM REST ON WHITE FABRIC, PARTIALLY COVERED BY A SHEER, PATTERNED CLOTH IN A DIMLY LIT SETTING. THIS CONTEMPORARY SCENE FEELS CALM AND DELICATE, LIKE A STILL FROM AN INTIMATE DOCUMENTARY WITH SOFT SHADOWS.

MATTHEW SWARTS A PERSON PARTIALLY OBSCURED BEHIND A DENSE, INTRICATE WEB OF GRAY, WIRY MATERIAL, CREATING A TEXTURED, TANGLED VISUAL BARRIER BETWEEN THE VIEWER AND THE FIGURE IN THIS STRIKING PIECE OF CONTEMPORARY ART.

MATTHEW SWARTS ABSTRACT BLACK AND WHITE ART IMAGE FEATURING INTRICATE, SWIRLING, LACE-LIKE PATTERNS OVER A CIRCULAR, TEXTURED BACKGROUND WITH OVERLAPPING ORGANIC SHAPES AND FINE LINES CREATING A COMPLEX, WEB-LIKE VISUAL DESIGN.