Matthew Deleget
Matthew Delegat is inspired by reductive abstraction of the past, including Color Field painting and Op-Art, but seeks to separate contemporary abstraction from traditional restrictions. The artist rescinds the importance of paint application and declares it “a means to an end.” The dialogue between paint, surface, wall, and gallery are reflected in his attention to installation and the actions taken to distort the idea of painting rather than the process itself. He regularly seeks out and reflects upon “corporate government, urban culture, news propaganda, unwinnable wars, religious fundamentalism, [or] unconscious materialism” by way of experiments in perception. He has explored color absorption a la Josef Albers, has smashed wood panel monochromes masked in industrial spray paint in reaction to the Arab Spring, and doused canvases with opulent frames enamel spray paint—all for the sake of clarifying a reality that has become increasingly complicated.
Delegat has exhibited at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, New Bedford Art Museum, Massachusetts, Cress Gallery of Art, Tennessee, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indiana, Brooklyn Public Library, New York, and MoMA PS 1, New York, among other international …
Matthew Delegat is inspired by reductive abstraction of the past, including Color Field painting and Op-Art, but seeks to separate contemporary abstraction from traditional restrictions. The artist rescinds the importance of paint application and declares it “a means to an end.” The dialogue between paint, surface, wall, and gallery are reflected in his attention to installation and the actions taken to distort the idea of painting rather than the process itself. He regularly seeks out and reflects upon “corporate government, urban culture, news propaganda, unwinnable wars, religious fundamentalism, [or] unconscious materialism” by way of experiments in perception. He has explored color absorption a la Josef Albers, has smashed wood panel monochromes masked in industrial spray paint in reaction to the Arab Spring, and doused canvases with opulent frames enamel spray paint—all for the sake of clarifying a reality that has become increasingly complicated.
Delegat has exhibited at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, New Bedford Art Museum, Massachusetts, Cress Gallery of Art, Tennessee, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indiana, Brooklyn Public Library, New York, and MoMA PS 1, New York, among other international outlets. He was also included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial in New York. He has been honored by the Brooklyn Arts Council, CUE Art Foundation, Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Pratt Institute, acquiring grants consistently since 2000.
