Matthew Angelo Harrison
'Dark Silhouettes'
Adopting the language of industrial design and anthropological aesthetics in sculptural forms, Matthew Angelo Harrison combines references to colonialism, African diasporas, and the industrialization of the U.S. This dialogue is manifest in his materials and processes, as he repurposes or represents culturally loaded objects in resin and metal. His explorations center on notions of history, preservation, and progress, and take the shape of “capsules” that problematize or expand on the nature of the object, its circulation, and cultural significance through time. The artist takes a scientific approach to his practice, with the aim of unveiling complex relations to systems that are present and pervasive in daily life. For his solo exhibition at SCAD MOA’s Evans Center for African American Studies, Harrison presents a group of recent works with direct connections to diasporic identities.
Adopting the language of industrial design and anthropological aesthetics in sculptural forms, Matthew Angelo Harrison combines references to colonialism, African diasporas, and the industrialization of the U.S. This dialogue is manifest in his materials and processes, as he repurposes or represents culturally loaded objects in resin and metal. His explorations center on notions of history, preservation, and progress, and take the shape of “capsules” that problematize or expand on the nature of the object, its circulation, and cultural significance through time. The artist takes a scientific approach to his practice, with the aim of unveiling complex relations to systems that are present and pervasive in daily life. For his solo exhibition at SCAD MOA’s Evans Center for African American Studies, Harrison presents a group of recent works with direct connections to diasporic identities.
About the artist
Matthew Angelo Harrison (b. 1989, Detroit) completed his B.F.A. at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been awarded grants and fellowships by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, United States Artists, and Kresge Arts. He has presented solo shows at the Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, Mich.; Atlanta Contemporary; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. His work is held in the permanent collections of the de Young Museum, San Francisco; Detroit Institute of Arts; Galeries Lafayette Foundation, Paris; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. In June 2021, Harrison opened his first European solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Basel. In March 2022, he opens a solo exhibition at MIT List Visual Arts Center. Harrison lives and works in Detroit. He is represented by Jessica Silverman.
Install Views
Credits
Dark Silhouettes is organized by SCAD MOA adjunct curator Humberto Moro. It is presented as part of SCAD deFINE ART 2022.
