MATTHEW CRAVEN
Lifelines
May 19 to June 24, 2018
Opening Reception on Saturday, May 19 from 6 to 8PM
Drinks courtesy of Breakside Brewery
Ampersand is pleased to present Lifelines, an exhibition of new works and an artist's book by Matthew Craven. Alternating between hand-made and found images, Craven reconfigures original historical narratives by fusing imagery cut from history books with backgrounds of geometric symbols and textile patterning, meticulously drawn on found paper. Obsessive repetition of color and motif join contrasting symbols to create a surreal vernacular built on transformation, precision and vibrancy. Placed within this new context, the found images lose their original implied meaning and carry on within an imagined, temporal existence that alludes to a universal symbolism resonating throughout the history of mankind.
His artist's book, PATTERN NO. 3, is the most recent installment of an ongoing series of books for which artists and thinkers are invited to create, collect or converse about pattern making. In addition to the book itself, each of the original works are available as a deluxe edition.
Matthew Craven lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from The School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, including, most recently, Prospectus at 101/Exhibit in Los Angeles.