Contact Matthew
email: matthewpatrickweir@gmail.com
Education :
2000 University of Kentucky, Sculpture.
2004 BFA. Sculpture. Art History and Humanities Minors. University of Louisville Hite Art Institute. Cum Laude
Louisville, KY.
Exhibitions:
2007 Generation Next, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY
Sticks and Stones, KY Folk Art Center, Morehead, KY.
2006 A Southern Presence, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY.
Heavy Metal, Friedman Images Gallery, Louisville, KY.
2005 Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, KY.
The New Center for Contemporary Art. mmm…yes please. Louisville, KY.
Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science 52nd Annual Mid-states Juried Exhibition. Evansville, IN.
A.R.T.: A Real Thing. Actors Theater of Louisville, Louisville, KY.
Arts on Main Juried Art Show, Community Theater. Shelbyville, KY.
Artists of Swanson Reed Contemporary at Actors Theater of Louisville. Louisville, KY.
University of Louisville, BFA Thesis Exhibition. Louisville, KY.
Arts on Main Juried Art Show, Community Theater. Shelbyville, KY.
Sellersburg Stone Co., Inc. Open House. Sellersburg, IN.
Beauty and the Beast, Kentucky Theater. Louisville, KY.
Group Exhibition, 953 Gallery. Louisville, KY.
Winter Studio Show, The End and John-Martin Rutherford. Louisville, KY.
Vitalizing Space: Exhibition and Installation. Theirman Building. Louisville, KY.
Art Under the Influence, Artswatch. Louisville, KY.
2002 Lion’s Den First Annual Open Studio Exhibition at St. James Art Fair. Louisville, KY.
Water Tower Annual Juried Exhibition with Louisville Visual Arts Association (LVAA). Water Tower Art Museum
The Hangar Show, Bowman Field: Cardinal Wings Hangar. Louisville, KY.
2001 Group Exhibition, 953 Gallery. Louisville, KY.
The Indianapolis Murphy Arts Center Exhibition with The Artists of the Bright Foundry. Indianapolis, IN.
Autumnumbra Sculpture Invitational, The Museum. Louisville, KY.
Grand Opening Exhibition, Hidden Hill Outdoor Sculpture Gallery and Whimsy. Utica, IN.
Water Tower Annual Juried Exhibition, Louisville Visual Arts Association ( LVAA). Water Tower Art Museum.
Louisville, KY.
2000 Group Exhibition, 953 Gallery. Louisville, KY.
Commissions (select):
2007 St. Xavier High School. Life-size bronze tiger sculpture on carved IN. Limestone base for sports stadium.
Jewish Hospital hallway niche sculpture (competitive). Coordinated by Kentucky
Museum of Art and Craft. Bullitt, KY. In February of 2007 Jewish Hospital
2005 Bernheim Arboretum. Donor Tree, designed and created with Julie Schweitzer and Mike Ratterman, Clermont, KY.
2004 Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church Roberta Marx Bench Memorial. Louisville, KY.
2003 Louisville Downtown Management District Bench sculpture. Louisville, KY.
2002 Hidden Hill Sculpture Garden, “The Beautiful Terrible.” Utica, IN.
Awards / Scholarships :
2007 Kentucky Arts Council: Individual Artist Professional Development Grant
Presented the Governor’s Award in the Arts under the Business Category.
2003 University of Louisville: Allen R. Hite Arts Institute, Fine Arts Scholarship.
2001 Barney Bright Memorial Award for Sculpture: Louisville Visual Arts Association Water Tower Annual Exhibition.
Work Experience :
2001 — pres Bright Foundry Inc. (Fine Art Bronze casting). Sculptor / employee. Louisville, KY.
2004 — 06 Prototype sculptor for Ideas Etc Inc. Louisville, KY
2001 — 02 Repair Technician / Specialist for Ulysses, LTD: Hand - carved, marble decorative accessories and sculpture.
2000 — 02 Paul Fields, Sculptor. Studio assistant / sculptor. Louisville, KY.
2000 — 01 Kaviar Forge: Craig Kaviar Blacksmith and Ironworks Studio. Technical draftsperson and employee / assistant.
Symposiums / Workshops :
2002 Participant at Sixth Annual Indiana Limestone Sculpture Symposium.
Sponsored by Bloomington Area Arts Council and Bybee Stone Company. Ellettsville, IN.
Teaching Experience :
2007 KY Museum of Art and Craft: Blackacre Nature Preserve. Still Life Drawing and mixed media arts. Louisville, KY.
Bernheim Arboretum, “Stone Carving,” Instructor. Clermont, KY.
Mellwood Arts Center. “Stone Carving,” Instructor. Louisville, KY
2005 Bernheim Arboretum, “Sculpture in Wood,” wood carving instructor. Clermont, KY.
2004 — 03 Seneca High School, Annual “Renaissance Faire” soap- stone carving instructor. Louisville, KY.
1999 — 01 Drawing Fundamentals and Clay Modeling studio classes for Future Minds: Child Enrichment Program.
Publications :
“Being one’s own boss is 24/7/365 proposition,” by Michael Jones. “The Courier Journal,” March 16, 2007.
The Sculpture Reference: Contemporary Techniques, Terms, Tools, Materials, and Sculpture.
Williams, Arthur. Sculpture Books Publishing. Gulfport, MS. 2005
www.sculpturebooks.com
disClosure: a journal of social theory. No. 15 Thresholds. 2006.
Matt Weir. “Reproduction, Stress, and the Death Drive: Go With the Flow.” “The Mind.”
“Rare trees, plants and garden sculpture are no secret at Hidden Hill.” By Brenda Dorman,
Community Editor. “The Evening News,” April 12 2002.
“In the Spotlight: Imagine Artist Matthew Weir.” By Faye McDonough, Imagine Art Historian.
St. Francis High School, “Thoughts” April 2002.
“What’s Next: Twenty Something Artists shake up the scene with Water Tower Show.”
By Amy Drozt. “The Courier Journal,” June 17, 2001.
“High Art to Whimsy.” By Diane Heilenman, Art Critic. “The Courier Journal,” July 14, 2001.
“Hidden Hill.” By Carla Sue, Social Columnist. “The Voice-Tribune,” Vol. 15, 2001.
“Churches, Banks and Bars: Louisville’s Cultural Quarterly.” “The Mind.” Vol. 3, 2004. |
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky in February of 1980. Throughout the majority of my childhood and young adult years I could be found exploring the woods of my neighborhood and the forests and parks of Kentucky. This experience educated me not only in terms of dealing with environments but especially in understanding the systems and materials of the earth. Now, as a naturalist in thought and a sculptor at work, the systems and materials of natural selection’s evolving world are my portfolio and tools.
After years of working both professionally and academically, in 2004 I graduated Cum Laude from the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture. I also received minors in Art History and the Humanities. Throughout this period, I have benefited from a great deal of experience by means of employment and apprenticeship. These creative work environments are Kaviar Forge, a sculptural blacksmithing forge and studio, the materially diverse studio of the late sculptor, Paul Fields, and the fine art sculpture foundry, The Bright Foundry. I have exhibited my sculptures and artworks in numerous exhibitions including The Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science, the Louisville Visual Art Association Water Tower, The New Center of Contemporary Art, Actor’s theater, Bernheim Research Forest and Arboretum, The Kentucky Folk Art Museum, and many more. My work exists in the collections of the City Of Louisville, Hidden Hill Sculpture Garden and Arboretum, Jewish Hospital, as well as numerous private collections. In the field of arts education, I have taught a diversity of sculptural mediums to all age groups and annually instruct wood and stone carving at Bernheim Arboretum. Select publishing include Arthur Williams’s encyclopedic book, The Sculpture Reference, “Contemporary Techniques, Terms, Tools, Materials, and Sculpture,” and disClosure: a journal of social theory, “Thresholds,” No. 15. My studio is located in the historic Germantown region of Louisville. |
