Friday, August 24, 2012

Matthew Oman's Series of Art

“I don’t think I mentioned that my biggest/favorite/most complex piece of artwork is my house.” ~Matt Oman

On Saturday, August 25th, 2012, Matt Oman will be having an art sale at his home. From 1:00 to 2:00 all available works will be on view; then starting at 2:00 purchases can be made.

Former Duluth News-Tribune art critic Ann Klefstad describes Oman and his work this way:

MATT OMAN RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH with a history degree, but his house is a work of art. His very ordinary home has become, through his sowing of books, images, arrangements of objects, and more, a kind of machine for mindfulness, a way of externalizing and developing ideas. It's a three-dimensional materialization of a mind.

He's compiled his interests in physical form and arrayed them inside his living space in a most curious way. Some of the thematics are: books, Zebulon Pike, mountains, skiing, snow, Pawnee cosmology, baseball, blue jays, dogs, the signs given out by the forms of living beings (say, the forms trees take when they grow, and how those forms are retained in driftwood). The flows that shape the dead are also important: how does water form wood and rocks? Art, personal history, the nature of persons, the workings of color and form -- all are part of Oman's concrete imaginary.

Oman says he enjoys beauty, as does every person, but more than the average person. "I need it as much as possible… visible all around me. Thus, ever since I was young, I would place things that I liked, that looked good and nice to me, on my walls, dresser space, etc., and arrange them so that they were 'at their best,'" Oman told me last winter. "By that I mean that their overall position within the context of the entire room, their near and distant neighbors/juxtapositions, all maximized the inherent beauty of the object. The object then was for ALL the objects, pictures on the wall, etc, to achieve their highest possibility."

Tomorrow's showing begins at 1:00, though purchases will be put on hold until 2:00 so that the pieces don't sell-and-leave before people get a chance to look them all over. There are approximately 50 pieces available. The mediums are collage, mixed-media, drawing, painting, and photography. There will also be coffee, pop, and snacks on hand (free of course).

The event's location will be Oman's house/garage at 1316 Foster Ave, Duluth MN, 55811. If you're unfamiliar with the street, Foster is located in the network of roads in the quiet neighborhood behind Kohl's.

More details, including an attempt to describe the unique pricing structure, can be found at Seriesofart.com. You can read more of Ann Klefstad's review here.   

Make your weekend is a special one.

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