ARTIST STATEMENT:

 

I have been making art for twenty-five years. Most of my works have been ephemeral, light installations in which mundane materials are used as a catalyst. Michael Fallon states about my work: “Ultimately, Matson Lume’s work is poignant because he wrests beauty out of items that symbolize and embody the immateriality of life. Whereas most of us are bemused by our mortality, Matson Lume exhibits a clear-eyed view of life and things. Instead of nostalgizing objects, or idealizing their presence in our lives, or idealizing life itself, he seeks instead to work with the objects as they are, and to keep an eye on the shadows they cast on the wall. That is, for Matson Lume, bright plastic trinkets, or cast-off pieces of shiny material, or hanging luminescent decorations—all of these are exactly what they are. But at the same time, heis aware that these objects project something—a shadow, a halo-glow, a particular essence—beyond their mere physical presence.”

 

“ I believe nothing can be more abstract, more unreal, than what we actually see.”

— Giorgio Morandi

 

ARTIST BIO:

 

Charles Matson Lume received a M.F.A. and M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. His art has been exhibited at institutions such as: the Irish Museum of Modern Art, (Dublin, Ireland), Babel Kunst (Trondheim, Norway), Hunter College, (NYC), Minnesota Museum of American Art (MN). Charles has received artist fellowships from the Bush Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Charles has participated in artist residencies such as: Nes Artist Residency in Iceland, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Millay Colony for the Arts, and the Science Museum of Minnesota.  His work is also a part of image registries at The Drawing Center, NYC, and White Columns, NYC. Charles is a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and lives with his wife, Sarah, and daughters, in St. Paul, MN.