Gallery Uno
The Fine Arts building
410 S.Michigan Ave. Suite 541
Chicago IL 60605
Matthew Groves ‘Harvest’
New work created in response to the events of 9/11
Curated by Barbara Goebels-Cattaneo
April 3 -30 2012
Opening Reception : Friday April 13, 5-8 pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays 2-6 pm & by appointment
‘One’ Glazed Earthenware with white slip and Terra-Sigillata, 2012
Harvest can be interpreted as ‘the consequence of an effort or activity - a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon’ which could be a definition of Craft, but in this instance it is also a reflection of how I feel about Love and Hate.
Since the attack on the World Trade Center ten years ago, I have often found myself reflecting upon the circle of violence between the UK and Eire. This piece express some of my sentiments regarding the lack of separation between Church and State in Britain and the USA.
The sgraffito design on ‘One’ it is based upon the dollar note. It also reflects an interest I have maintained in ‘English Harvest Jugs’, which were used to supply liquid refreshments to field workers in the 19th century. These vessels were typically made from red earthenware with a white slip and a scratched design, covered with a honey glaze.
‘The Other One’ Glazed Earthenware with white slip and Terra-Sigillata, 2012
Harvest can be interpreted as ‘the consequence of an effort or activity - a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon’ which could be a definition of Craft, but in this instance it is also a reflection of how I feel about Love and Hate.
Since the attack on the World Trade Center ten years ago, I have often found myself reflecting upon the circle of violence between the UK and Eire. This piece express some of my sentiments regarding the lack of separation between Church and State in Britain and the USA.
The sgraffito design on ‘The other One’ it is based upon an English pound note from the early 1950’s. It also reflects an interest I have maintained in ‘English Harvest Jugs’, which were used to supply liquid refreshments to field workers in the 19th century. These vessels were typically made from red earthenware with a white slip and a scratched design, covered with a honey glaze.
Artists participating in Figure/Figurine include Christyl Boger, Ann Agee, Jeremy Brooks, Anna Noel, and Debbie Kupinsky. Each of these makers uses the history of the figurine to create works that live comfortably in our contemporary world.
April 20 - June 24, 2012
This competition is open to all artists who are residents of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. All work completed within the last 2 years, both functional and sculptural, is eligible.
Juried by Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio - the preeminent international dealers in 20th-century ceramics.
Art Exhibition Link is an art organization founded by art historian Barbara Goebels-Cattaneo that links the contemporary art scene in Chicago and Berlin. Gallery Uno is located in the Fine Arts building on Michigan Avenue, downtown Chicago.
‘Oranges and Lemons’ Glazed Earthenware and Mixed Media, 30” x 24” x 18”, 2012
I survived the Bush administration (2000-2009), but many people did not. The upcoming exhibition at Gallery Uno entitled ‘Harvest’ contains new works made in response to the events of 9/11. Harvest can be interpreted as ‘the consequence of an effort or activity - a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon’ which could be a definition of Craft, but in this instance it is also a reflection of how I feel about Love and Hate.
My father used to sing a song called ‘The Bells of Rhymney’ which was written by Pete Seeger, adapted from an English Nursery Rhyme called ‘Oranges and Lemons’. I wanted to build two tall vessels in response to the memories I have of visiting the World Trade center as a teenager. I remember mostly the rush of air at the base and looking up at the vertical metal and glass stripes. After the vessels were fired I decided to mount them so that they hang slightly and can be rung like bells. The sound is solemn and reminds me of the song and the rhyme, which has a violent ending.
Redware Teapot, 5” x 9”, 2011
This teapot was created specifically for the exhibition ‘All Steamed Up’ at the Cinema Gallery in Urbana Illinois.
http://www.cinemagallery.cc/Teapots.htm
As well as continuing with the development of new figurative work, I recently rebuilt and re-engineered a 50 year old Leach style treadle wheel and started potting on it with the intention of creating thematically sprigged unglazed red-ware teapots, in emulation of the ware of the late 17th century Elers Brothers. Dutch immigrants, then living and working in seclusion in Staffordshire, the Elers created extremely refined, unique and technically innovative utilitarian pottery, stirring up strong feelings of envy and intrigue amongst the local population.
The clay is a high fire red called ‘Lizella’ which, when fired to cone 6, has the same porosity as a YiXing (pronounced ee-shing) type clay body. My sprigg’s are informed by the engravings of Thomas Bewick, an English woodblock artist who practiced his trade in Newcastle upon Tyne when Tea was thrown into Boston harbor by white colonists dressed as American Indians.
Green Dream, Earthenware with translucent glazes, 12” x 12” x 30”, 2011
This piece was accepted to the 19th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition juried by Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio http://www.samfa.org/ncc.htm
Inspired by Robert Arneson’s ‘portrait of David’, in which Gilhooly is represented gazing inwardly to his beloved frogworld, this piece represents my own inner vision, conjured by memories of walking the damp English hillsides covered in fiddle headed ferns.
Green Dream is also my interpretation of the archetypal Chinese ‘Boshanlu’, which generally consisted of a bowl and a high cover in the form of mountain peaks. Practically they were incense burners, however, they were also scholarly objects for meditation, symbolizing the abode of the immortals. The green glaze dripping up, represents the rising smoke or wisps of morning dew.
Majolica Man, Earthenware with clear, translucent and opaque glazes, 12” x 12” x 30”, 2011
This piece was accepted to the 19th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition juried by Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio http://www.samfa.org/ncc.htm
Majolica Man is intense in every sense of the word. It is a struggle to find the time, energy, and the confidence to make and present art, grappling with the material and with my own identity, approaching the limits of my technical ability, celebrating the medium and its historical forms.
I chose colors which I associate with the Minton’s Factory in Stoke on Trent, Stafford-shire. I have always felt a certain fascination with Minton Majolica Figures, which often employ seemingly in-congruent color combinations, creating visual tension. In this piece, the cool alkaline turquoise and opaque white glaze draws the two figures together, and the warm translucent acidic brown, green and honey help separate them.
In-Me-Morium, Earthenware with Terrasigillata, 6” x 4” x 5”, 2011
This piece was produced for a show called ‘Element Flux” at the Jackson Junge Gallery in Chicago.
Your teeth are the only part of your skeleton that you can see sticking out of your body. I enjoy the fact that my soft fragile brain is safe inside its shiny white cranium. This piece showcases my love of modeling and mold making and celebrates the wonderful Roman Terra-sigillata.
It is a very intense experience, working directly in plaster and oil based clay, refining a model over a period of days, followed by the challenges of the plaster piece molding, however, all this slow going stuff is eventually offset by the rather rapid reproduction in clay, and the variable firing process.
EDUCATION
1987-1989 M.A. Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, U.K.
1984-1987 B.A. (Hons.) Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, U.K.
PROFFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009-Present
Assistant Professor, Department of Fine and Performing Arts (Fine Arts), Loyola University Chicago. Full-time tenure track faculty in Ceramics, and studio manager for Ceramics / Sculpture / Metalworking and Jewelry. The Ceramics program serves students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science programs as part of a Liberal Arts Curriculum within the College of Arts and Sciences. The Fine Arts program offers several majors: Art History, Ceramics, Drawing and Painting, Photography, and Visual Communication.
2005-2009
Manager of Ceramics Production Facility and Studios School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Managed the daily activities of the ceramics production facilities and studios. Provided instructional, technical and administrative support to faculty, students and staff, and supervised and trained full-time, part-time and student, employees.
2008
Visiting Artist Workshop, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills Michigan. Two day workshop involving lectures, technical demonstrations and individual critiques on this specialized graduate program in Ceramics.
Adjunct Faculty, Art and Design Department, Columbia College Chicago. 22-2241-01 Ceramic Concepts and Practices. This course explored the conceptual possibilities and technical complexities of ceramic material as a vehicle for Contemporary Art and Design.
2007
Ceramics Instructor, Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, Michigan. Mold making for Sculpture or Design. A concentrated introduction to the making and use of plaster molds in the production of contemporary sculpture or innovative utilitarian ceramic forms.
2006
Resident Artist, Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck Michigan. Two week residency in the area of ceramics.
2003-2006
School of the Art Institute, Chicago. Ceramics Instructor, Part-time, undergraduate program, Ceramics Department. Taught a variety of classes including ‘Materials and Processes’ (Hand Building), Throwing-Low Fire and Throwing-High Fire (beginning, intermediate and advanced), ‘Sculpture, White Ware, Casting’ (molding and casting for sculptural objects) and a collaborative course between Designed Objects and Ceramics called ‘Porcelain Production for Designed Objects’. Received ‘Outstanding Faculty Member Award for Excellence in Teaching’ academic year, 2004-2005.
2002-3
Lill St Art Center, Chicago (www.lillstreet.com). Ceramics Instructor. Wheel Throwing (multi level) and Mold Making.
1999-2005
Field Museum, Chicago. Exhibitions Department, Senior Shop Supervisor and Production Specialist.
The Replication Shop, which I oversaw, manufactured items for temporary, traveling and permanent exhibits. Our work usually involved some combination of painting, sculpting, molding, casting and or direct fabrication in mixed media for reproductions and or models.
1998-1999
Field Museum, Chicago. Preparator of fossil reptiles, ‘Sue’ project, Geology Department. Sue is the world’s largest and most complete T-Rex specimen. I worked as part of a team, who prepared, recorded and reconstructed the fossil remains for scientific research and display purposes. I was particularly involved in the reconstruction of missing or damaged parts, and the molding of all completed models and bones.
1997-1998
Universal Statuary Corp., Chicago. Designer, Model/Mold Maker, Product Research and Design Department. This company mass-produced a large range of interior and exterior licensed figurative sculptural objects. Employed to design, model, mold, cast and finish, prototype sculptures for mass production.
1997
North Central College, Naperville, Illinois. Ceramics Instructor, ART 150-1 CERAMICS. Devised and ran a comprehensive eight-week course of study for students on this undergraduate level degree program. The course was designed to introduce the history and traditions of ceramics and to explore the relevance of ceramic expression within contemporary practices.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Guest lecturer, History of Ceramics, Ceramics Department. Lectured on the development of the Staffordshire Pottery Industry, from its Roman origins to contemporary industrial productivity in stoneware, earthenware and porcelain. I employed my experience as an undergraduate at Staffordshire University, and used many images taken of the industry during various periods of research.
1996
Arch Bronze Fine Arts Foundry, London, U.K. Assisted full time in the production of contemporary art bronze and mixed media sculpture. Working as part of a small, specialized, technical team, we employed a broad range of materials and processes, modeling, molding, investing, casting, chasing, patternating etc. We worked directly with prominent British artists, including Druhva Mistry, Marc Quinn and Eduardo Paolozzi.
1995
Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy (www.saci-florence.org/). Ceramics Instructor. A broad range of accredited art and design activities are offered at SACI, at both graduate and undergraduate level. I devised and ran classes in Ceramics – ‘Wheel Throwing’, ‘Hand Building’, ‘Figurative Ceramics’ and ‘Ceramic Sculpture’ over one academic year.
1989-1995
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (Sculptor to her Majesty the Queen, Scotland) - Studio Assistant. Regular part-time employment producing drawings, models, molds and casts for the artist, working from the artist’s studio, my own workshop (in South London), the workshops of the Royal College of Art, the Arch Bronze Foundry in London and the Morris Singer Foundry in Basingstoke.
1993-1997
Maggi Hambling - Studio Assistant. Assisted the prominent British painter in the development of an appropriate 3/D sculptural language for a show at London’s C.C.A. Galleries in 1993, and later for a show at London’s Marlborough Gallery in February 1996. We worked in both clay for ceramic and directly in wax for bronze, from the artist’s studio, my own workshop (in South London), the workshops of the Royal College of Art and the Arch Bronze Foundry in London.
1993-1994
Ivydale Mental Health Resource Center, London, U.K. Ceramics Instructor. For two years running, I ran a small, weekly, part-time art and craft workshop at this experimental mental health drop-in center in Peckham, South London. Recommended to the position by prominent British ceramic artist, Janice Tchalenko.
1991-1995
Berkshire College of Art and Design (now Reading College of Art and Design), U.K. Foundation Art and Design Course, part time contracted instructor, two to three days per week over four years. As a member of a small team who taught the core subjects of drawing, sculpture, general 3/D design and spatial design, I was more specifically, though not exclusively, responsible for the personal welfare and development of students specializing in ceramics and 3/D craft design. Courses in Ceramics were linked thematically to projects carried out in other media. Taught Hand Building, Wheel Throwing, and Mold Making.
Bath School of Art and Design, Bath, Avon, U.K. Ceramics instructor taught Hand Building and Mold Making, various part-time contracts on this specialized 3 year undergraduate degree course.
Staffordshire University, U.K. Ceramics instructor taught Hand Building and Mold Making, various part-time contracts on this multi-disciplinary, undergraduate degree course.
1991-1992
University of Wolverhampton, School of Art and Design, U.K. Ceramics instructor taught Hand Building and Figurative Ceramics, various part-time contracts on this modular 3/D Design degree course.
1989
Staffordshire University, U.K. Ceramics instructor taught Hand Building and Mold Making, various part-time contracts on this multi-disciplinary, undergraduate degree course.
University of the Arts, London, Camberwell College of Art, U.K. Ceramics instructor taught Hand Building and Mold Making, various part-time contracts on this specialized ceramic’s undergraduate degree course.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2012
Solo Exhibition (Title and date TBA) Chicago Cultural Center, IL
‘Outside the Classroom’, Faculty Biennale 2012, Loyola University Chicago, IL 19th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition (Juried Exhibition), San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Texas
‘Figure/Figurine’, Invitational group exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA ‘Harvest’, Solo Exhibition, Gallery Uno, Chicago, IL
Invitational group exhibition, Millikin University’s Perkinson Gallery, Decatur, IL
2011
‘All Steamed Up’, Invitational group exhibition, Cinema Gallery, Urbana, IL
‘Element Flux’, Invitational group exhibition, Jackson Junge Gallery, Chicago, IL
‘Creatures: From Bigfoot to the Yeti Crab’, Invitational multidisciplinary project and exhibition, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, ID
‘Outside the Classroom’, Faculty Biennale 2010, Loyola University Chicago, IL
2010
‘Matthew Groves, Figurative Ceramics’, Solo Exhibition, The Edge Gallery Chicago, IL
2009
‘Folk Memories’, Solo Exhibition, Collins Art Gallery, GRCC, Grand Rapids, MI
2008
‘Urban Clay Invitational’, Group exhibition, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
‘Art Chicago 2008’, Invitational group exhibition, Bertrand Britton Projects, Chicago, IL
‘Art Work 5’, Faculty/Staff group exhibition, G2 Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
‘People of the Mud II’, Invitational group exhibition, Chicago Cultural Center, IL
2007
Matthew Groves, Works / Sarah Nishiura, Wagner College Gallery, Staten Island, NY
2005
‘Evolving Planet’, Permanent Exhibition (Production supervisor - replications), Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2005
‘The Pottery of Mata Ortiz’, Temporary Exhibition, (Production supervisor) Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2004
Group invitational exhibition, Lill Street Arts Center, Chicago, IL
2003
‘Treasures of the Americas’, Temporary Exhibit, (Production supervisor), Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2002
‘Taymor’, Julie Taymor Retrospective, Temporary Exhibit, (Production supervisor - replications), Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2001
‘Chocolate’, Traveling Exhibit, (Production supervisor - replications), Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2000
‘Endurance’, Ernest Shackleton Story, Traveling Exhibit (Production supervisor - replications), Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2000
‘Sue the Unveiling’, International Televised Media Event and Exhibit, Field Museum, Chicago, IL
1996
‘Maggi Hambling’, Sculpture in Bronze, (Production assistant). Marlborough Fine Art, London, U.K.
1993
Eduardo Paolozzi, ‘The Wealth of Nations’ (Production assistant), Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland
1993
‘Dragon Morning’, Maggi Hambling, (Production assistant). CCA Galleries, London, U.K.
1992
Whitechapel Open and Open Studios, Group exhibition, London, U.K.
1990
Recent Graduates Group exhibition, Barbican Center Gallery, London, U.K.
‘Artists Choice’, Group invitational exhibition, Mall Galleries, London U.K.
‘From London with Love’, Mixed media exhibition, Matthew Groves, Paul and Kate Kessling, Hanover Galleries, Liverpool, U.K.
1989
‘Arche Noah’, Sculptural Installation, Eduardo Paolozzi, (Production assistant), Munchner Stadtmuseum, Germany
Graduate Exhibit, Henry Moore Galleries, Royal College of Art, London U.K.
Matthew is an active studio artist and a full time teacher, holding the position of Assistant Professor of Fine Art in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Loyola University Chicago, where he teaches all levels of Undergraduate Ceramics.
Since graduating with his Masters Degree in Fine Arts in 1989, Matthew has made it his vocation to be a teacher, artist, and professional fine art and design technician.
