Matthew Piepenbrok

Matthew Piepenbrok is a multi-media artist and educator understanding the basics of community and using art as a universal communication across cultural and language barriers.

Statement:

G O A L S

Remove myself from daily life and spend time contemplating how art, faith and space relate.

Create a body of 2D work and refine ideas into glass.

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Art is inspired from life and informed by the process.

Cultural Anthropology has fascinated me for decades; from the time I first walked into a classroom to the practices that followed me into life, it drives me to observe with wonder. I want to see humanity from inside and outside - emic and etic. Learning about culture and living in that culture, such as, the Amazonian tribe of Hourani, village and farm life of rural India, or sitting on the top of ‘Tooth Mountain’ saluting the setting sun, to exchanging guidance with a Sadhu above an ancient diamond mine. And, wondering where it all began. Questions like: How did we come to know something as a people? Where did events that changed humankind begin and why? What is it that keeps us striving and striving for what? Who are ‘We’? What makes us ‘Us’? These questions and others arise in my minds-eye and are expressed through what knowledge I know and come to know.

Religion and governments have come to form our collective thought with stories and parables; law and regulations. It's the times before the beginnings of these notions I’m interested in finding, hoping to find a glimmer of untainted truth. What drives us? What keeps us whole or not?

I use text from Holy Scripture to government documents to stories from childhood to adulthood, applied within a simplicity of spherical geometry, a shape with no end and no beginning. I find my method of expression by limiting my palette, tools and process allowing for forced creativity. After finding inspiration, such as, sitting under a tree conversing with the souls that wandered by, I begin by creating my thoughts in drawing and painting, from there they evolve and mature into: Stories to be Shared, Moments to be Watched, Thoughts to be Pondered. Utilizing the transparency of materials and the layering of mark-making I push and pull the depth of materials be it on paper or be it in glass, for me transparency is seeing through time and space, creating a space for story telling, creating a space for the exchange of knowledge for a world full of love and peace; free from judgment and justice.

E X P L O R A T I O N

Embracing a break from the bustling world of glasswork, I embarked on a fulfilling three-month journey as an artist-in-residence at Last Ship in Khajuraho.

Each morning, I awoke to the serene presence of the ancient Khajuraho temples, providing me with a profound backdrop for my creative exploration. It was within these hallowed grounds that I engaged in deep contemplation and meditation, channeling these experiences into my deliberate and expressive artwork.

My days were a tapestry of adventure as I ventured forth to explore the timeless temples, quaint villages, picturesque farmlands, majestic mountain peaks, and lush jungles that surrounded me.

Amidst these inspiring surroundings, I allowed the architecture of this sacred place to weave its influence into the very language of my drawings, creating a harmonious fusion of art and history.

Khajuraho, Last Ship Residency, as a guest of the Last Ship artist in residency program. The residency has given me the opportunity to view and reflect on my art and art making outside the confines of time.

P R O C E S S

My journey commenced with a profound intention: to delve into the world of meditative drawing practices, channeling the essence of the temples/sacred space and the vibrant blooms within the temple complex and the heartwarming community

My artistic pursuit transcended mere lines and shapes, becoming an eloquent expression of form and a symphony of colors.

This transformative experience encompassed a spectrum of drawings, each imbued with a sense of meditation and contemplation, rendering them far more than mere artistry.

E X P R E S S I O N

After months of drawing and pondering what a temple complex does to space and understanding, glass offers a chance to turn my vision into a real sculptural light installation in physical space.

After pouring through my art and ideas it was clear that in the past and the future there has been one thing that has been constant and unchanged throughout our history as seen in temple construction and it is the ‘sun'. The sun is revered and worship in all cultures and a thing of the past and present.

My glass piece is the culmination of views of the past from different spaces and different distances. The past, present and future all at once, everywhere, anywhere.