Nate Mathews

Blog Has Moved

2010-09-06T01:59:00.002-05:00

I started up a new blog some time ago:
http://www.natemathews.com/blog/

2010-04-21T16:46:00.000-05:00

Jessica Bruah, Shamrock Hotel Resort and Suites, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

New Romantics, an exhibition curated by friend Mike Reinders, opens this weekend. Mike put in a ton of work gathering this group of artists and prepping the space.

April 22-May 9th
Open Thurs-Sun, 12-6pm
1200 W 35th St.
Enter from parking lot on Racine
Take the elevator to the Fourth Floor (4003)

Opening Reception
April 24th, 5-9pm

Closing Reception
May 8th, 5-9pm

Vandilism of Art

2010-02-24T16:40:00.000-06:00

Monday morning this graffiti showed up on the side wall of the modern wing of the Art Institute and this really makes me mad. Art the same time I wish I had been able to photograph it before they power washed it because this side wall of the museum is rather foreboding with the 10 foot tall limestone wall. The vandals, which I suspect may be the student inhabitants of the institute, clearly thought it needed something a little more colorful. Maybe it was meant as a statement about art or the architecture of the building, or maybe just a way for some punk to get some publicity for what he considers art. HOW DARE YOU! I must mention that the School of the Art Institute is offering a class on Graffiti Art this semester, coincidence?

I wonder what Renzo Piano would think of what they did to his artwork? I imagine he would expect this type of vandalism to his Pompidou Center in France, but perhaps the building already has a bit too much color.

With some artwork vandalism is expected or even encouraged. If you walk just a half block east of the new modern wing you will find Chicago's only large scale sculpture by Richard Serra over in grant park. Compared to recent works the sculpture I am referring to is actually rather small. This 32-ton and 17 foot high Reading Cones sculpture, named for Reading, Pennsylvania where it was made, creates a very odd private space in the middle of the park. The foreboding scale of the sculpture combined with other factors such as the distance the sculpture is placed from other activities within the park, the private space inside the sculpture, and the industrial oxidized material of the sculpture invites graffiti.

At one of the schools I teach at there has been some recent theft and vandalism of student work displayed in the main corridor of our building. One student had a drawing stolen that took about 50 hours to complete, and another had multiple pastel paintings tagged. Again, HOW DARE YOU! In the case of the art institute the wall can at least be power washed, but what type of person tags a work of art rather than the wall behind it or says "Hey, that would look good on my living room wall" and steals work.

I don't worry as much about my students work being stolen because (aside from a couple of my advanced students) we photographers work with negatives and can therefore make a new version with only a small financial cost and time in the darkroom or at the computer. But still, HOW DARE YOU!

What is the soundtrack to your work?

2010-02-22T19:02:00.000-06:00

In a recent conversation with some of my students I was asking them to describe the mood of their work. I wanted them to not only describe the mood they felt when making the work, but also the mood they feel when looking at the work, and the mood they want the audience to feel.

An analogy of a soundtrack was refereed to during our conversation. a soundtrack like a recipe of multiple moods and images. One student described their work in reference to exact songs that have the same emotions as the images he/she makes. The final body of images becomes an album rather than a single greatest hit that is more powerful because of the variety of emotion being mixed into the greater set of images.

I often listen to music while making work and I have come to realize how much music can affect my process of shooting, productivity, and my ability to think/process a space (My best images are made when listening to music with similar mood to my images ).

While I often listen to a lot of punk while making work, I think that a lot of music by these artists would be in the soundtrack to my work: Cat Stevens, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Tracy Chapman, and a lot of Smashing Pumpkins.

What is your soundtrack?

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Eye-Fi

2010-02-18T23:30:00.000-06:00

I learned about a great new piece of technology for photographers today called Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi are new wireless transmitting SD media cards that allow you to automatically upload your photos to your computer through the internet. The cards come in sizes of 2-8 gb and price between $50-$150. The top of the line model will transmit RAW files at class 6 speeds and can be set to automatically backup or automatically delete files once they have been safely downloaded to your specified folder on your computer (or one of 25 photo sharing or social networking sites). For the real nerd you can also use it for geotagging images.

This is one of the things that makes me really drool over the new 18 megapixel Canon Rebel T2i (less than $800 for the body).

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A minor site update

2010-02-13T08:30:00.000-06:00

The past month I have been real busy and forgot to blog. One of the things I was working on was a little update to my site. I made my images a little larger and have added a few more. I am currently working on choosing the proper edit but there is lots of variety for now. If you have any suggestions or see any problems please let me know.

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My Office

2009-12-06T23:58:00.001-06:00

So here is my office over at Northeastern. While I don't think this is the right image of this space, it has sparked a new interest in a different kind of institutional space. This image is from shortly after I inherited it and I have since done my best to liven up and personalize the space (the speakers and mac were my first steps in the process).

If you have an office in some way shape or form and would be willing to have it photographed, please send me an e-mail and let me know by clicking HERE. While I am most interested in bland or personalized offices in institutions like mine, it need not be a formal office at your place of work (maybe a home office, studio, or dining room table that you work at?). I appreciate any suggestions.

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UIC Show Opening Thursday Night November 5th 4-7pm!

2009-11-03T19:03:00.002-06:00

Please join me for the opening of my new show at UIC Thursday evening 4-7pm. The Address is: Art Lounge, UIC Student Center West, 828 South Wolcott Ave. This is the west end of the UIC campus near Damen so you could take a Damen bus south to Polk and go one block east, or take the pink line to polk and walk two blocks west. There is also plenty of metered parking within a block or two walk. The space is in the south east corner of the building so enter from the south doors (near the center of the block) and turn right. The gallery is next to the bookstore in the corner past the stairs. Cheers, Nate

2009-10-24T23:05:00.001-05:00

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Late Nights in Michigan

2009-10-21T14:21:00.002-05:00

Over the summer I spent a good amount of time photographing in Michigan. This is one of my favorites for the vibrant colors. This was about 20 minutes for the exposure because it was inside of a parking garage at about 11pm. Unlike most of the rest of my recent images it has a slight angle rather than the the strait on deadpan mirror symmetry and the window opens up the flat plane in an odd way showing that we are standing inside looking out rather than the opposite (my typical viewpoint).

Solo Exhibition at University of Illinois at Chicago

2009-10-21T12:53:00.002-05:00

Thursday November 5th is the opening of my new solo show in the Art Lounge of the UIC Student Center West. The show is up through December 4th and includes 17 works.

Here is information on the exhibition and opening reception:
Ersatz
Monday, November, 2 2009 to Friday, December 4, 2009
Opening reception
Thursday, November 5, 2009 4:00 - 7:00 pm

Information on the gallery:

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Art Lounge
Student Center West,
828 South Wolcott Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60612

I hope to see you there.
Nate

I need your office for a new project

2009-09-17T16:52:00.002-05:00

With the new school year I thought it might be a good time to start working on a new project that has been floating around in my head for a few months. The project will be photographs of your office. So if you have an office either in the place you wok or at home I would like to photograph it. I'll just leave it at that for now because I don't want to put any constraints on the project at this stage. Let me know if you can help.

artXposium

2009-09-16T14:44:00.004-05:00

On September 19, 2009, the West Chicago City Museum, located at 132 Main Street in West Chicago, will open its doors to the third annual artXposium, a multimedia art experience, in collaboration with People Made Visible, Inc. Local, national and international artists will come together to display a variety of art work ranging from traditional media, to interactive and multimedia installations.

Friday, September 18:
7pm Meet the Artists Potluck - Museum
8pm Reach the Rock Film Screening - Museum

Saturday, September 19:
11am - 10pm artXposium exhibition on view
5pm Closing Reception - Museum
6pm Artist Talk by Danish Artist in Residence: Berit Nørgaard - Museum
6pm Sound Palette - Gallery 200
7pm Core Project - Museum 2nd Floor

This is a cant miss one of a kind show so make it out to the west suburbs friday night or saturday afternoon to see over 25 exhibiting artists (including me). If you are in Chicago without a car transportation is easy, take the Union Pacific West Line from Ogilvie to West Chicago (the museum is a three block walk west of the station).

F-Stop Magazine Group Show

2009-08-01T14:23:00.002-05:00

I have an image in this months F-Stop Magazine group show "Amusement". This is a rather old image but I think you can see connections to my current work.

Artist talks at Catherine Edelman Gallery

2009-07-20T00:14:00.003-05:00

Catherine Edelman Gallery has posted Video's of the Artist Talks for those included in the current Chicago project III Exhibition. See my good friend and fellow photographer Bill Guy talk about his work Here.

For more about the show or other artists videos on the Catherine Edelman Gallery site click here. Artists include Shannon Benine, Philip Dembinski, Bill Guy, Eric Holubow, Julie Meridian, Jason Robinette, James Rotz, David Schalliol, Daniel Shea, Sarah Stonefoot, Leasha Overturf and Alan Thomas.

2009-07-16T22:38:00.002-05:00

I am loving Photoshop CS4!!! Just upgraded this week and the retouching previews are amazing! It also seems to be running faster and smoother with my large files.

Something New

2009-07-12T13:54:00.003-05:00

I have been spending considerable time lately re-examining the spaces that I have photographed in the past. I have found many things that have significantly changed in the time of a year, different season, even from one day to another, or things that were overlooked such as the interior of a structure.

Women Imaging Women

2009-07-11T22:19:00.003-05:00

This past Thursday evening I went to see the work up at a new show in The State Street Gallery of Robert Morris College (401 South State Street). With art historical tradition in mind, “Women Imaging Women: A Study of Female Portraiture“ examines how contemporary artists depict either themselves or other women.
Angela in the Garden by Lily Mayfield

Kiara by Sarah Baranski

The show runs through September 13.

52nd Annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition

2009-06-10T13:47:00.004-05:00

I have some work in the 52nd Annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition that opens at the Wright Museum of Beloit this Friday night. The opening is from 5-8pm June 12th, and the show runs through July 24th.

If you plan to visit the Wright Museum of art is the second building on the left (past the Wilson Theatre) if you head north of the intersection of Prospect Ave and Bushnell St, Beloit, Wisconsin 53511 (Roads are closed through the campus).

Bill Guy

2009-06-09T20:46:00.003-05:00

Finding Walden: Photographs from the Chicago Park System by Bill Guy opened at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum last week. The show runs through August 2nd. See more work at billguyphotographs.com

Marina City @ ArchiTech Gallery

2009-06-03T14:01:00.002-05:00

ArchiTech Gallery is opening a show this Friday with drawings and photographs of one of Chicago's most iconic buildings, Marina City designed by Bertrand Goldberg. ArchiTech is located at 730 North Franklin suite 200 (around the corner from Catherine Edelman gallery). The show runs June 5 - August 29, 2009 (Wednesday-Saturday 12-5).

2009-06-03T02:13:00.003-05:00

My work is now up in the 52nd Annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition in the Wright Museum of Beloit. There will be a Opening Reception June 12th 5-8pm. The exhibition is up through July 24th, 2009.

Site update

2009-05-16T23:51:00.002-05:00

Take a look HERE, I have updated my site with a few new images. I also believe I have fixed my site feed problem.

Atom Feed

Rss Feed

Columbia College MFA Thesis

2009-05-09T18:16:00.003-05:00

Friday May 15th the visual thesis exhibition will open for the 2009 MFA Candidates in photography at Columbia College Chicago. The show includes: Katharyn Addcox, Brooke Berger, Niki Grangruth, Allison Grant, Lisa Lindvay, Kevin Malella, Herman Nicholson, Grant Ray, and Mike Reinders. See images and links to their individual sites at:MFAphotothesis.com. I know all these wonderful photographers so I plan to go show my support. The reception runs from 4-7pm, but also be sure to see all the other events that are part of Manifest at Columbia College Chicago.

2009-05-08T11:37:00.002-05:00

A few Updates: One of my works took the third place prize in the Camera works show at Ridgefield Guild of Artists, See more Here.
Closer to home, I have three works in the upcoming Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition at Wright Museum in Beloit, opening June 12th.
And finally in Chicago, I am setting up a solo exhibition in one of the galleries at UIC that will open sometime in November, More details to follow.

Lily Mayfield - Intimate Distance

2009-05-01T21:17:00.006-05:00

Lily Mayfield a friend and colleague from Columbia has work up at Woman Made Gallery, May 1 - June 11, 2009. See more at lilymayfield.com

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Today is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day

2009-04-26T12:29:00.003-05:00

Every last Sunday in April is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, so build or dig out your old lens less camera, make some pictures, and share them with the world.
To submit an image to the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day Gallery, click HERE. For information on the history of pinhole cameras or how to build a pinhole camera, click HERE.

Class Pictures: Photographs by Dawoud Bey

2009-04-18T23:19:00.003-05:00

This Thursday, April 23, Dawoud Bey will be giving an artist talk to open his exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition titled "Class Pictures" runs April 16 to July 12, 2009. The talk starts at 6:15 in the Lubar Auditorium. The lecture is included with the cost of admission ($12 or $10 for students with ID).

He also keeps a wonderful blog named "Whats going on"

Last week of PhotoDimensional at the MoCP

2009-04-12T23:49:00.002-05:00

Exhibition closes April 19, 2009

This exhibition investigates the relationship between sculpture and photography, two and three dimensions, and perceptual issues that are integral to those relationships.

Work by: John Coplans, Katalin Deér, Leslie Hewitt, Bettina Hoffmann, Pello Irazu, David Ireland, Melinda McDaniel, Heather Mekkelson, Laurent Millet, Vik Muniz, Susana Reisman, Lorna Simpson, Florian Slotowa.

Frank Gohlke

2009-04-12T23:13:00.002-05:00

Thursday, April 16th at 6:30 PM - 618 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd floor Lecture Hall

Frank Gohlke will be presenting the final lecture of the Spring 2009 semester's Lectures in Photographynext Thursday, April 16th at 6:30 in the second floor lecture hall at 618 S. Michigan Avenue. The lecture is FREE to Columbia College Chicago students and the general public.

Frank Gohlke is a leading figure in American landscape photography. He has been awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Known for his large format landscape photographs, Gohlke's work has been shown at museums all over the world and included in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, the Australian National Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

Some Inspiration

2009-04-07T23:04:00.006-05:00

(if you are into architecture/Neo Topographics)

Jeff Brouws

Brad Moore

Nathan Ian Anderson

Jeff Curto

2009-04-07T22:19:00.002-05:00

Our host tonight at the Mary Virginia Swanson Lecture at the College of Dupage was Jeff Curto the Program Coordinator of their Photography Program. They run a real fine program with a number of wonderful lectures each year. I have always been impressed with the students that transfer from that program.
Check out Jeff's architectural work of Italy HERE.

MVS blog of art deadlines

2009-04-07T21:59:00.002-05:00

MARY VIRGINIA SWANSON keeps a great blog that lists current deadlines for calls for work and portfolio reviews. Check it out HERE

Wednesday Night: Laurel Ptak @ SAIC

2009-04-06T17:29:00.002-05:00

Wednesday Night, April 8, Laurel Ptak (iheartphotograph) will be giving a Free Lecture at the School of the Art Institute. Lecture starts at 6pm in the Columbus Auditorium.

Laurel Ptak is an independent curator based in New York City. She has worked for numerous leading arts institutions including the Guggenheim Museum, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, and Art:21. She currently serves as Educational Programs Manager at the Aperture Foundation. Ptak is best known as founder and curator of the popular photography blog iheartphotograph.com. The website has become well known for showcasing visually and conceptually cutting-edge work by mostly young and unknown photographers hailing from all parts of the globe. Laurel Ptak's unique curatorial vision has also been applied to several "real world" projects including the exhibitions "www.iheartphotograph.com" at Higher Pictures in New York City in 2007; "Is it possible to make a photograph of New Jersey regardless of where you are in the world?" in 2008 at the Pierro Gallery (curated exclusively through digital means, featuring more than 1,000 images by 189 photographers from 18 different countries, with the ambition of "physicalizing a Google image search for the words New Jersey"); and "Young Curators, New Ideas" at the Bond Street Gallery in New York City in 2008.

Tuesday Night: Mary Virginia Swanson @ C.O.D.

2009-04-06T17:23:00.003-05:00

Tuesday April 7, 2009 at 7:00 PM, Mary Virginia Swanson will lecture on FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: An Introduction to Marketing Your Photographs.
College of DuPage Student Resource Center (SRC) room 2800
Free Parking: park in lot "C" or lot "D"
Cost: Free and open to the public
Fore more info visit COD's site HERE

Mary Virginia Swanson makes it her goal to help guide photographers towards the strengths in their work and to identify appreciative audiences for their prints, exhibitions, editorial and licensing placement. Swanson has a diverse professional background, having coordinated educational, publication and exhibition programs for a wide range of institutions and businesses in our field.

Swanson is considered an expert in the area of marketing and licensing fine art. It was during her tenure heading special projects at Magnum Photos, that she recognized the opportunities for artists to develop second markets for their work and in 1991 she founded SWANSTOCK, an innovative agency that managed licensing rights for fine art photographers.

Swanson currently works with photographers as a marketing consultant, and is a sought-after portfolio reviewer.

Lewis Baltz

2009-04-05T00:54:00.005-05:00

After a discussion with my students last week I have been thinking about my influences. We discussed one in particular that most people see immediately in my work, Lewis Baltz. Take a quick look for example at the architecture in the two images below. For more images of Lewis Balts look here.

New Shows

2009-03-31T02:52:00.004-05:00

My work has recently been selected for two new shows.
Broken in Vancouver Washington runs April 1-26, a themed show: "Mechanical, physical, emotional, political, environmental and beyond - Broken is an exploration and statement of what no longer works in your world".
Camera Works, Juried by Nat Trotman - Assistant Curator Guggenheim Museum of New York, Runs April 26th to May 22nd in Rigefield, CT.
Both will be wonderful shows so check them out if you are on the east or west coast.

Nathan Matthews

2009-03-30T19:05:00.003-05:00

On a recent google search I found the work of another artist (graphic designer) named Nathan Matthews at gianthuman.com. With the way everyone spells my neme with 2 T's I wonder if it is common to get his site instead of mine. He also has some nice photo's.

Two great Lectures Thursday Night 3/12

2009-03-10T00:49:00.003-05:00

First, Columbia College is hosting Richard Renaldi for the second lecture of the year. Lecture starts at 6:30pm, 618 S. Michigan Avenue in the second floor lecture hall. The lecture is free and open to the general public.

And John Paul Caponigro at College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn.
Lecture starts at 7pm in the student Resource Center (SRC) room 2800. Also Free and open to the public.

New Work

2009-03-08T21:05:00.003-05:00

Partiotism

2009-02-27T18:38:00.002-06:00

I found this odd billboard just before Inauguration Day.
I wonder what will go up next...

Disassociation

2009-02-26T20:50:00.003-06:00

One of the most entertaining things about openings and listening to people talk about my work is the assumptions they make about their location. A large part of this comes from the vast selection of Brutalist and other modern structures on almost every university campus and many city civic centers across the US and the entire world.
When I was picking up work this week the gallery director was asking the locations because one patron was certain that one image was from a new hip restaurant they recently ate at. The image was in fact a large church. I intentionally strip my images and titles of clear identifiers to preserve and exaggerate the anonymity.

One of my greatest fears is the destruction of this architecture (especially if i never get to experience and photograph it). Jörg Colberg discusses two of the major American landmarks of Architectural Brutalism in a post today, a reaction to this Wall Street Journal Story.

Gordon Muehle

2009-02-18T22:20:00.002-06:00

Gordon Muehle
Till April 30, 2009

Gordon Muehle is currently showing work at Schneider Gallery. Inspired by David Hockney, Muehle was captivated by the power of photography and its endless possibilities from a young age.
Muehle has engaged in extensive exploration of the media and has literally developed his own way of seeing. He shoots his subjects with Polaroid film and a modified camera that allows him to push the boundaries of the film itself. His camera, which took two years of trials to perfect, enables him to take extreme close-ups, control shutter speeds, and apertures. The completed image is a one-of-a-kind grid of Polaroids. The effect of the tiled image is engaging, playful, and very much his own. Variations in value and shifts in color dance across the surface of the work. Perspective pushes and pulls from frame to frame creating a unique distortion, yet maintaining an overall vantage.
Muehle’s newest body of work, Heroes is a series of portraits, which tribute influential people and critical moments in his life.

College of Dupage

2009-02-15T13:19:00.004-06:00

As I now live in Dupage County, I find I am drawn back to COD over and over again. This may be for convenience, but I still live 14 miles away from it. There simply so little to choose from in the area that fits my subject matter. Time for another road trip!

Elbow Patches

2009-02-14T18:15:00.002-06:00

After raving reviews of elbow patches I thought I would give the look a try at a gathering last night with a traditional jacket. What do you think?

I tried it with dressy trousers (the tall guy in the center), but it seems it could work with denim...

Dress Code

2009-02-13T18:19:00.002-06:00

Is there a dress code for Professors of Photography?

In a recent conversation with some of my friends from grad school we were discussing how nicely one of our professors always dressed. On that particular day it was a real sophisticated gray three-piece suit with a red handkerchief fitting the season. An important note would be that he was a professor of the history of photography. As our conversation continued I mentioned my own dress and whether I should refine it to stronger separate myself from my students.

This is not to say I am a slob when teaching, but I don’t think I am old enough to wear a tweed jacket. For lectures I typically dress smart casual (dress trousers, a long-sleeve dress shirt, and loafers).

The trouble comes when working in the darkroom. At the school in which I teach darkroom classes I have no teaching assistant or other staff. A professor cannot be expected to dress well when mixing chemistry on a daily basis. In the darkroom I tend to wear denim and a sweater or put on a Fleece to get dirty.
So I am wondering what other young professors in the arts do to maintain authority while being comfortable and not ruining good clothing (or going home smelling like fixer)?

Here are a few ideas:
Lab Coat to go over nice clothing

Revival of sweater vests from my old preppy days

Or add elbow patches to everything: jackets, sweaters, long sleeved shirts...

Let me know what you consider appropriate or if you have any other amusing ideas.

PhotoDimensional and Katalin Deér

2009-02-13T01:02:00.004-06:00

I had the pleasure of hearing the Artists talk last night at the MoCP for the opening of their new show PhotoDimensional (through April 19th). The show deals with the translation of 3D objects into 2 dimensional Photographs (or vice versa).

I particularly enjoyed the work of Katalin Deér. This was first due to her sculptures that incorporated photographs, but I really love that she used concrete within her work. Anyone who can convince a museum to allow them to pour concrete on the wood floor easily wins my admiration over.

Intervention

2009-02-13T00:16:00.004-06:00

Tonight is the opening of Intervention at Vespine Gallery with works by Brandon Blunden, Andrew McComb, and my good friend Allison Grant.
Opening 7-9p, February 13th
Show runs through February 28th
Vespine Gallery
1907 S. Halstead Ave.

Sailboat

2009-02-08T23:54:00.005-06:00

Homeland - Photos by Nina Berman

2009-02-08T06:09:00.002-06:00

Also up the street this Thursday, February 12
5:00 p.m. - Reception
6:15 p.m. - Lecture
Roosevelt University, Gage Gallery, 18. S. Michigan Ave.

Terry Evans

2009-02-08T05:16:00.002-06:00

Steel Work

Revealing Chicago

Terry Evans will be giving the first Photography Department lecture this year at Columbia College Chicago.
THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2009 at 6:30 PM
618 South Michigan, 2nd Floor.

New Work

2009-02-07T14:37:00.002-06:00

New Work

2009-02-06T12:48:00.002-06:00

Illinois State University

2009-02-05T19:23:00.000-06:00

Curtis Mann 12x12 at the MCA Chicago

2009-01-31T18:55:00.003-06:00

My good friend from grad school Curtis Mann has a 12x2 show at the Museum of Contemporary Art opening this Friday 6-10pm. The show runs February 7 to March 1, with a lecture on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 6:30 pm.

This is a must see if you are a Chicagoan interested in photography.
Congrats Curt, see you Friday!

College of Dupage

2009-01-24T20:47:00.002-06:00

College of Dupage

2009-01-20T23:33:00.002-06:00

New Show

2009-01-20T00:05:00.003-06:00

I have some new work up in a show at McHenry County College.

Nate Mathews Photographs
January 13 - February 20, 2009

Epping Gallery
McHenry County College
8900 U.S. Highway 14
Crystal Lake, IL 60012

Allison Grant

2008-11-25T21:10:00.002-06:00

I dont want to forget my good friend Allison Grant whom is also working/playing with the idea of nature.

Colleen Plumb

2008-11-25T20:56:00.002-06:00

Thinking about nature brings me to the work of another colleague Colleen Plumb. Check out her work HERE.

Gideon Barnett

2008-11-25T20:18:00.003-06:00

As it gets colder I tend to move indoors more. So here is a little related work by a former colleague Giddeon Barnett. His Flora project examines artificial nature in the workplace.

2008-11-20T16:55:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I was digging through my old archives and came across this image that still amuses me. Anyone remember this?

Donna Arntzen

2008-11-19T13:43:00.004-06:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Donna Arntzen. Her serries Containing Nature examines the the relationship between humans and nature. This examination of artifice in nature seems to interest many young artists lately, myself included.

Join me Tonight

2008-11-15T00:58:00.002-06:00

City or Suburbs, Join me tonight at one of my openings. Both start at 6pm with awards announcement at 7pm.
The Mary Beth Creiger show is at Around the Coyote Gallery, 1935 1/2 West North Avenue (at Milwaukee and Damen) in Chicago. The show is curated by Catherine Edelman (Catherine Edelman Gallery Chicago) 6-10pm.

FOTO-WORK is at The Orleans street Gallery, 4051 East Main Street in Saint Charles (on Army Trail "Route 64" west of Sutton Road "Route 59"). The show is juried by Whitney Bradshaw (Curator of Photography at the Bank of America Collection) 6-9pm.

Upcoming Shows

2008-11-05T14:17:00.002-06:00

Upcoming Shows

Fraction Magazine has chosen some of my images for their featured Typologies Group Show. Issue 4 will be released November 8th so check back this weekend.

Join me at The Orleans Street Gallery next Saturday November 15th from 6-9pm for the opening of FOTO-WORK Juried by Whitney Bradshaw (Curator of the Bank of America Collection, formerly the LaSalle Bank Collection). Show runs through January 10, 2009.

Also at Around the Coyote next Saturday November 15th from 6-10pm for the opening reception of The 2nd Annual Mary Beth Cregier Memorial Photography Exhibition and Competition Juried by Catherine Edelman (Catherine Edelman Gallery Chicago). Show runs through December 20, 2008.

New Work

2008-11-05T14:09:00.001-06:00

Ten Days

2008-10-25T00:37:00.003-05:00

When teaching I always leave my political views at home, but I encourage students to discuss their own ideas and political views. I enjoy seeing them interested in the elections and hope every one of them votes in November (but it is no excuse to miss class).

And second, I believe one of the best way to become a better image maker is through looking at other artists work in books, online, and especially in person. Here are some links to photographers web sites that have some wonderful images of the candidates and other politicians.

Tim Llewellyn
Scott Goldsmith
Damon Winter
Callie Shell
Nigel Parry
Christopher Morris
Michele Asselin
Brooks Kraft
Images from The New York Times
Who It Takes by GQ

and if you do a search on Flickr you can find tons more of images of the candidates. Enjoy!

Update, more shows...

2008-10-17T20:43:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow (through November 14th) is the opening to my solo show in Bartlett, 10 am in the second floor main gallery of the village hall. I know, short notice right! Well life has been... life lately. When I'm not teaching or planing classes I have been busy making work, applying to calls, and printing/framing/shipping work for shows (oh, yea and I moved a couple weeks ago). So if you cant make it out to Bartlett, next month (November 15th-January 10th) I have work in Foto-Fest (Juror Whitney Bradshaw) at the Orleans Street Gallery in Saint Charles, November 8th Fraction Magazine will release Issue 4 that features some of my work, and in January I will have a solo show in the Epping Gallery at McHenry County College.
I guess being busy is a good thing, I just wish I had more time to make work. Still thinking about a weekend trip to make work, maybe I'll have time next week...