* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Edmund Mathews is a visual artist whose work focuses on human migration. His subject matter is derived through the investigation of inventions, historical imagery and the journey of people, to create strange, ambiguous narratives. He received his first Bachelor of Fine Art in Graphic Design from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 1991. He was a graphic designer, illustrator, art director and business owner before receiving his second Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting and Drawing from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts in 2010.
Edmund explains his work by saying, “My current paintings and drawings are mainly inspired from an interest in early inventions, migration, and world history. In my art the simplest of objects often become much more admirable and dignified than they are normally perceived. I attempt to paint images that are both surreal and probable at the same time, as well as give a greater meaning to the objects I have chosen to resurrect from the past. My work is filled with subject matter that represents history, relocation, and human interaction. In the series, “Containers”, you will see crates, boxes, cargo and other enclosures that become monumental and more significant. These mundane, over-looked objects from everyday life are transformed and then weaved into a new reality in which they take center stage.”
