As ever, I’ve been very busy working and scheming with Rogue Citizen artist collective (soon to launch a real website of our own), including our recent work with Minnesotans for a Fair Economy in Minneapolis and Washington, DC. I’ve also been creating illustration and design for Hellcat Design Group and an exciting new nonprofit venture Line Break Media. Some of that work will be featured here soon. For those in Minneapolis, one of my favorite clients Hyro da Hero is coming to First Avenue March 18th.
New paintings coming up, too. cheers – mw

Rogue Citizen has otherwise been hustling through live events, murals, and other special projects, including painting with the excellent Chuck U at Art-a-Whirl in NE Minneapolis and the fundraising event Art Squared. Later this fall, we’ll be exhibiting a small series of work at the annual exhibition Voices from the Warehouse in Dubuque, IA, and shortly after presenting a two-night series of live music at Cause Soundbar and Spirits in Minneapolis coinciding with a large group show there, featuring entirely new work from all four RC member artists (Dalsen, McGorry, AEON and myself) and very special musical guests. Among them, we’re importing the unmatchable Phillip Morris from Chicago. Go download that business right now, champ.

Aside from clocking hours with the collective, I’ve been working as a graphic artist and production supervisor for Hellcat Design Group, an emerging Twin Cities outfit that provides print work and design for touring acts. Check out some of the merch design and album art there, notably the recent art I’ve been providing for breakout punk/hip hop artist Hyro Da Hero, whose new album Birth, School, Work, Death is available in stores and on iTunes, etc.

Soon enough I’ll be overhauling the images on this site in order to actually back up my claims of having been busy. Soon enough…

Rogue Citizen collaboration with CHUCK U during Red Hot Art Festival, August 2010

It’s been a very busy several months of freelance/contract/fine art business. I’ll try to update the galleries soon, check out Illustration and Design for new work.

Last week, “Words to Dead Lips,” a multimedia/dance production culminated three nights in a row at Intermedia Arts (as part of theirCatalyst series) in Minneapolis, the result of nearly a year’s worth of collaboration between Pramila Vasudevan of Aniccha Arts and myself. I produced complex hand-drawn animated sequences for the evening-length performance, used in the space with several digital projectors.

The Book of Bartholomew is a series of short stories by author Mark Granlund, for whom I’m contributing a second round of illustrations.

The extraordinary gentlemen in Substance have been at work this election season organizing and promoting live music events; some of the graphic design I’ve done for them will be featured in the galleries here.

There can’t be a full entry without mention of Rogue Citizen, the hip new artist collective from the cool side of town. Coming up is our first St Paul exhibition, NEVER MIND ROGUE CITIZEN at Nevermind Gallery in downtown, Nov. 22 – Dec. 12, with special edition prints available, and featuring mostly new solo work from myself, Dalsen, McGorry, and Mattheis. Make sure to join us for a closing party Friday, December 10, 6-10pm; live music by Ostraka (John Keston); live painting by Rogue Citizen.

Look out for Disasteratti’s new album Transmissionary out on Learning Curve Records later this month, with original cover art…

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.

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.

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.

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!

Cheers,
Matt

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

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