We live in a world filled with imagery of all sorts, most of which we take for granted and usually ignore. It is easy to forget that a great photograph, a great painting, a great piece of art can change the heart. Strong painting has the potential to give us pause to contemplate. And contemplation, and the opportunity to do so, seems so sorely missing from our busy, even frantic, lives. Painting – art -- reminds us of our own humanity and through it we are faced with our own lives -- our pain, our fear, our yearning, our endless ability to love and to hate. Art still has the potential to exalt, and to trigger emotion. That is the tradition of painting within which I strive to work.
John Mattson
A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
These paintings are the cartoons of a soul unable to ignore the psychic distress inherent in our lives. Whether we admit it or not, however we rationalize it, there is deep within us a core of truth that scares us. I strive to make this visual with iconography that has slowly evolved as I mature. I see most of my work as one frame, one snapshot, in a life of personal observation and inner search. My work is my diary. The formalism of good composition is important to me. I am obsessed with creating strong shape. Though I work from preliminary sketches I never really know what will happen. Usually I feel that I am working at the edge of disaster. For me painting is an exploration of uncharted territory and a constant test of my ability to be honest with myself.
The Mystery of Attraction, 2006
acrylic and graphite on paper
32" x 36.5"