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Matthew Wettlaufer grew up in Idyllwild, California, in the mountains of Southern California. He is the son of a sculptor and an English literature teacher. In 2005, while teaching a philosophy class at the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa, he began taking art lessons from three instructors: Jill Trappler, Paul Birchall, and Lynne Lymofsky. His work began to be exhibited and sold a year after he commenced painting. In 2010, Matthew moved back to California and now resides in Palm Desert with his husband and son. While not painting he works as a licensed therapist and enjoys playing Scriabin, Hindemith, and Debussy on piano or hiking in the mountains.
Artist Statement
"My early work was driven by the need to express the grief and loss in my experiences of working in El Salvador during the 1990s as well as my political activism in Queer Nation and ACT-UP/San Francisco. These paintings were large political narratives inspired by artists like Diego Rivera and Max Beckmann. Over time my work has evolved into abstraction, and I find inspiration from artists like Joan Mitchell, Richard Diebenkorn, Kandinsky, and the Russian Constructivists. My method for making art is intuition and accident driven, replicating internal imagery rather than exterior objects. Abstraction feels like the best approach to express the tragedy of life as well as its joys and beauty. I tend to work mostly in oils, but also reverse glass painting, watercolors, linocut prints, collage, and drawing."
CV
Awards
2006—South African Society of Artists, Cape Town SA, Kirstenbosch Gardens Group Show; Prize for reverse glass painting.
Exhibitions
2020—City of Indio, Public Art Works Project, Use of the painting "From Dawn to Dusk."
2014—Field Projects Gallery, New York City, Publication of animated film "The Holy Longing" on gallery's website.
2013—City Hearts, Fresh Focus Invitational from actor Max Adler, Auction of prints of Dave Karofsky Portraits.
2012—Riverside Press Enterprise, "Artist Goes Around The World To Find Home."
2012—Aroma Café, Idyllwild CA USA, solo show.
2010—Tikkun Magazine, "The Transformative Promise of Queer Politics."
2009—Cape Gallery, Cape Town SA, group show.
2006—South African Society of Artists, Cape Town SA, Kirstenbosch Gardens, group show; Award for outstanding artwork: "Pacific Crest Trail" reverse glass painting.
2006—French Consulate, Cape Town, South Africa—Picasso in Africa Exhibition, "Woman in Green."