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A YOUNG AND EXQUISITE CORPSE

May 28th, 2010

Foreign Affair (Bring the ruckus)

Foreign Affair (Bring the ruckus)

Things are heating up. I can’t stand this weather much, but I’ll take advantage of it to paint outside.

May 1st, RAN ART took off at Tarnish&Gold Gallery, and it was quite an event. My piece “Rainforest Doughstruction” (see last post) was featured in press for that show, and I was able to exhibit a print there.

A week later, Rogue Citizen violently birthed a painting into existence at Altered Esthetics Gallery. Check it out. The piece “Failure to Yield” is still up at the gallery for a couple weeks and available to obtain, via silent auction.

And following another week, we tackled a mural (above) over three days for Hoolie Fest at Shuga Records in Northeast Minneapolis as part of Art-a-Whirl; as of yet unfinished, but fit for looking at.

Upcoming:

June 19-July 18: SSCA Gallery is hosting Exquisite Robot, a Rogue Citizen show of drawings, featuring music by Unicorn Dream Attack and John Keston. The opening reception is June 19th, 7-10pm. It is crucial you attend this event.

June 30: Cinema & Civics (for which, coincidentally, I designed the logo and web graphics this year) is showing Dr. Strangelove, best film ever, in Stevens Square Park, with the ever louder Phantom Tails playing live, and none other than Rogue Citizen executing a large, real-time painting.

July 9: Speaking of Phantom Tails… Their album release show goes down this night at Hexagon Bar in east Minneapolis, with the help of Reckless Ones, Fort Wilson Riot, and Bight Club — and, of course, Rogue Citizen painting live. It will all be maddening. Take a gander in the “Illustration” section to see the cover art I did for Sounds of the Hunchback Whale.

Disasteratti also has a new album coming out later this year, packaged with original artwork that I’m quite happy with. I’ll try to post it here soon.

AUTHENTICALLY KRAEUSENED

April 23rd, 2010

doughboy
I’ve been working with Substance booking group for a while, specifically on RAN ART, an art contest/exhibition/event sponsored by Rainforest Action Network as part of their campaign concerning palm oil production. Kill the Vultures is headlining the show with Bouncer Fighter and the magnificent Phantom Tails. May 1st, 7pm at Tarnish&Gold Gallery in northeast Minneapolis. My artist collective Rogue Citizen is a co-sponsor of this event.

I’m working on finishing artwork for Disasteratti’s new album coming out on Learning Curve Records, and starting work on a concept album for emerging metal act We Are Legion due out in late summer.

Later on.. May 7, 7pm: Rogue Citizen is painting live and exhibiting new work at Altered Esthetics Gallery, northeast Minneapolis, as part of F.R.E.S.H., a show celebrating hip hop and urban art

May 14-16: Rogue Citizen is throwing up a mural on the side of Shuga Records, northeast Minneapolis, during Art-A-Whirl. It will be most killer. 70 bands in 3 days, and you can drink cold brews and hang out with us while we paint.

OKLAHOMA!

March 4th, 2010

Oklahoma Horror Film Festival
A recent poster/tshirt design for the Oklahoma Horror Film Festival

EVOLUTION AND EMPIRE

February 11th, 2010

evolution_empire

Rogue Citizen was invited last week to participate in Gimme Shelter: A Benefit Concert for Haiti, sponsored by City Pages and Gimme Noise, featuring Mark Mallman and Solid Gold; other artists included DWITT, Chuck U and Anthem Heart. Proceeds went to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund, and Architecture for Humanity. We painted live for the duration of the show, and in the end Evolution and Empire was auctioned for a lot more than we could have contributed ourselves.

Look for Rogue Citizen’s piece in Foot in the Door 4 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

An ambitious collaboration is under way between myself and Pramila Vasudevan of Aniccha Arts, dramatically expanding the concept and scale of the media/performance piece “Words to Dead Lips” shown last November at Pillsbury House Theater in Minneapolis. Aniccha Arts’ website currently features a segment of that piece via youtube.

INCLINATION FOR STRATEGIC THOUGHT

January 20th, 2010

Public Consumption has been delayed indefinitely but not halted definitely. Dispersing paintings all over the City tends to be frowned upon when the necessary permits and insurance are not acquired. That is the focus right now for Rogue Citizen; keep your ear to the ground for project updates in the coming weeks.

Many thanks to everyone who came out to catch Live Painting with Phantom Tails January 8th at the Nomad World Pub on the west bank in Minneapolis! Rogue Citizen will rise again with more live painting events this year…

Once a decade, there’s show that goes down at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts called Foot in the Door as part of the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program. I’ll have a piece in there.

Join the crew Saturday, February 27th for the closing reception of Precious Bodily Fluids, a small exhibition of some of my recent work at Galactic Pizza. After 9:30, it’s a dollar off beer and wine!

galacticCLOSING_flier

Cheers,
Matt

CITIZENS WITH PHANTOM TAILS

December 15th, 2009

PClogo_WEBHappy Christmahannakwaanzadon! Thanks for visiting us at the Holiday Art Show at Carleton Lofts in St Paul. Diverse artists, a little difficult to locate for some, but a rowdy bunch we are.

It’s almost 2010.

January 1: Public Consumption is going down in Minneapolis. I don’t know if you’re ready for it. Over forty paintings are deposited all over the city. If you find one of these, look on the back of the piece for the “Public Consumption” logo, and contact Rogue Citizen with comments, photos, video, and critiques concerning where you found it, what happened to it; what you did with it. All of this information will go in to a short documentary by Sam Thompson to be presented at the next FEAST grant event in February. Check out the trailer for it, set to a killer tune from Phantom Tails…

January 8: Living Painting with Phantom Tails! The Nomad World Pub is going to host a night of great bands with the wonderfully psychotic Phantom Tails capping it off. Rogue Citizen artists will be painting on a 5×5ft canvas live all evening (for sale via silent auction), and a collection of our work will be on the walls there for the month. This event requires your attendance. It is not optional. Come at 7pm for the art opening, stay until your socks are rocked.

January 9: Galactic Pizza on Lyndale Avenue, everyone’s favorite local/organic high-flying superhero establishment, will be hosting an opening for an exhibition of my work there, Precious Bodily Fluids. Show up at 9pm for a dollar off brews!

Keep an eye out during the year for another Rogue Citizen project… Exquisite Robot.

If you are interested in commissioning illustration or design work, or custom paintings, please use the contact page on this site, or email lizardmanart@gmail.com, and feel free to give me a ring.

Cheers,
Matt

FEAST ON THE LIVING

November 17th, 2009

Thanks to everyone who came out to FEAST at Traffic Zone Art Center for Visual Art Saturday evening; our collective won a grant for several hundred dollars that will fuel the project Public Consumption in the next few months.

Thanks also to people who attended Late Nite at Pillsbury House Theater the same night.   My collaboration with Pramila Vasudevan of Aniccha Arts manifested in a multimedia/dance project titled Words to Dead Lips. A hell of a lot of work in a short amount of time was poured into building this surreal, post-war trauma narrative. The performance was received very well, and the groundwork is being laid for an expansion and re-imagining of the project into a full length project in 2010.

This upcoming weekend for the Holiday Art Sale at Carleton Place Lofts in St Paul.  The show will feature Thea Peltier, Angel Teske, Erik Pearson, Pat Garrahy, Natasha Poppe, Joshua M Murray, and Matt Wells.  I will have prints and original paintings there, and some new work; perfect for subversive gift-giving, and confusing the relatives.

Cheers,
Matt

COFFEE IS GOOD FOR BRAIN MEATS

November 15th, 2009

Lizardman Art, featuring the work of Matt Wells, is being reconstructed. Thanks for your patience. To view more work online, please go to http://mnartists.org/Lizardman .

This upcoming Saturday, November 14th, there are two big events in Minneapolis.

Northeast: FEAST is a unique arts grant opportunity. Two out of the fifteen proposals being considered at Saturday’s event are the brainchildren of a progressive group of emerging artists: Shawn Dalsen, Eric Mattheis, Matt McGorry and Matt Wells. Go to feastmpls.org and check out”Public Consumption” and “Foot Out the Door,” under the Current Proposals menu… Please attend if you can! 6pm – 10pm. $10-20 sliding scale donation.

South: LATE NITE at Pillsbury House Theater is featuring a collaborative multimedia performance from Pramila Vasudevan of Aniccha Arts, and Matt Wells, entitled “Words to Dead Lips”. 8pm – food / 9pm – performance. $12

Cheers,
Matt