November 3, 2015 – March 3, 2016

Dickson Window Art Project Space

A.G.N.E.: Stacked Deviation #1 by Matthew Paul Isaacson, 2015, Vitrified Porcelain, Bisque Porcelain, and Unfired Porcelain, Dimensions Variable

Matthew Paul Isaacson's Project Statement:
This new installation work branches off from A Grandiose Numerical Equation, an ephemeral sculpture that came into existence in 2008. It has been presented and exhibited in numerous variations, of shape, form and scale. The work continues to change much like a child building with Legos, then destroys the object and recreates it using the same things. The primary material employed to create the work is a simple standard two-inch by two-inch industrially manufactured porcelain tile. Some installations have consisted of more than 65,000 tiles that were typically free stacked. For this particular installation at the Dickson Window Art Project Space, I have recreated various stacked tile forms and cast them in pottery plaster to create multiple slip cast hollow forms. These represent the larger free-stacked tile forms created in past installations. The approach of using the nude or unfired porcelain clay in combination with the vitrified porcelain makes this installation unique. It also allows the materials to become site-specific while working within the confines of the space. This explorative process provokes a more intuitive means of building. I am attempting to push the boundaries of the clay by juxtaposing the opposing qualities of the raw unfired clay (i.e. refinement and roughness). This approach exploits the clays textural ability to tear, crack and discolor over the course of time. While previously I had been consumed with creating elegant and sophisticated forms that resembled architectural buildings based on geometrical principles (e.g. the helix or parabolic curve), now I am focused on the fabrication of primal building blocks that begin to take on new forms and patterns not yet discovered.

Bio:
Matthew Paul Isaacson was born in Northern Michigan and grew up working on a large-scale industrial fruit-manufacturing farm, a background that continues to inform and inspire his work. His current sculptural work focuses on complex installations of free-stacked ceramic and glass tiles in combination with wet clay, which often reference architectural cityscapes. Matthew received his BFA in Painting alongside a Minor in Music from Western Michigan University in 2004. He then received his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007 and was awarded the Graduate Thesis Dissertation Scholarship.

Matthew now lives and works in Saint Louis as an Associate Professor and the Ceramics Coordinator at Saint Louis Community College at Forest Park. He has exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally, including a solo exhibition at the Luminary Center for the Arts, a group show at SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh, and recently participated in the Xin Jiang International Sculpture Exhibition in China. Past residencies include The Luminary Center of Arts, Ox-Bow, Pilchuck Glass School and Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts.

Lecture: March 3, 2016
in Von Ohlen Hall, room 201, Sugar Grove Campus
All our lectures are free and open to the general public.

Workshop: March 3, 2016
in Von Ohlen Hall, room 201, Sugar Grove Campus
Our workshops are open to all current Waubonsee students (registration required).

For more information about the art exhibitions at Waubonsee Community College, contact Cecilia Vargas, Art Coordinator, at (630) 466-2964.

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CONTACT

Art Department:
WCCArtDepartment@waubonsee.edu

Art Coordinator:
Cecilia Vargas, Von Ohlen Hall, Room 209
(630) 466-2964
cvargas@waubonsee.edu

Art Lab Assistant:
Esther Espino, Von Ohlen Hall, Room 240
(630) 466-5742
eespino@waubonsee.edu