Matt Browning

Twice Conquered, 2008

Concrete, Bondo

3 x 20 x 30 inches

Knocking skate-stoppers off ledges, cutting the kinks off handrails, or putting Bondo in the cracks of sidewalks are all ways skaters alter a given area to make it function in their best interests. Twice Conquered is a point of entry into looking at the practice of manipulating the urban environment to better suit one’s needs. Form follows function in the minimal sculpture. A pink flesh-like “Bondo band-aid” spans a disruptive crack in the near pristine surface of a concrete slab revealing the artist’s hand. The thoughtfully applied Bondo is demonstrative of the skaters’ dedication, who are willing to assume the role of “guerilla mason” in order to mend cracks in urban spaces the most worthy of reclaiming. Browning associates these little tweaks to our surroundings in the city to those of a builder or farmer who manipulates a piece of nature for personal—or public—gain. In this way Twice Conquered conquers anew, restoring small areas of the urban landscape back to an ideal state for skaters.

Matt Browning

The Dance

2008

Photograph, wood, epoxy

6 x 8 inches

The Dance, a new photographic work, documents Browning and two of his roommates shotgunning beers in their backyard. Titled as such because of its striking similarity to the composition of figures in Matisse’s Dance paintings, Browning’s comparison is a witty interpretation of the work. The reckless shotgunning—a method of drinking a beer in record time—mirrors the air of hedonism in Matisse’s paintings, and the young men’s experience cum ceremonial dance further extend Browning’s interest in masculine ritual and tribal identity.

Matt Browning

Trophy Trophy, 2008

Leather from baseballs, acrylic glue

21 x 16 inches

The idea for Trophy Trophy came while Browning was taking apart baseballs and began thinking about all of the skin and flesh that went into covering them. The pelts from skinned animals have long been used as a way of immortalizing a hunting accomplishment. Similarly, baseballs also serve in this capacity as trophies for a game. Players are awarded the ball with which they hit their Xth number home run or pitched their Xth number strikeout. Trophy Trophy combines two trophies from two separate male activities into one by breaking the skins of baseballs into squares and building them back up into a digitized animal pelt form.  Its final figuration references a symbol that spans generations of masculine ritual from animal pelts to hieroglyphics to characters from early Atari-era video games.

Matt Browning

He Who Dies With The Most, 2008

Shoes, steel

14 x 14 x 84 inches

He Who Dies With the Most, a totemic structure made of used shoes, worn and all donated by Browning’s skater friends, exemplifies the ideas behind the artist’s work. Utilizing the historical and cultural significance a totem pole has in Northwest Native American tradition, He Who Dies With the Most tells a story and symbolizes of the qualities, experiences and pride of a clan—in this instance a Seattle skate crew. The work also comments on the belief that a man’s collection of material things contributes to their status in society. Here the amassed collection of shoes, with their unique styles and brands, represents a collective social standing within the Northwest skater community. 

Special thanks to Peter Starrs and 35th North Skateboards.

Matt Browning

The Things We Did? It Wasn't So Much The Thing, As It Was That We Did 'Em

2008

Cedar, metal, glue

43 x 12 x 14 inches

These same lines of inquiry are found in The Things We Did? It Wasn’t So Much The Thing, As It Was That We Did ‘Em. Here, like in He Who Dies With The Most, Browning takes cue from cultural tribes native to this region and creates a utilitarian artwork. The dual-purpose device’s function is to puncture holes in the side of beer cans, essentially becoming a convenience tool for shotgunning. Created from weathered cedar fence boards, the sculpture references the backyard and camping trip locales in the Northwest where this behavior typically takes place. The irony of The Things We Did? It Wasn’t So Much The Thing, As It Was That We Did ‘Em, as suggested by its title, is that a utilitarian tool of this nature is virtually unnecessary. Its scale makes its mobility cumbersome and counter to the impromptu nature of shotgunning where people can pull their keys out of their pocket wherever they are, poke a hole in their beer can and drink—or shotgun—it in less than half a minute. The Things We Did? therefore becomes a utilitarian relic, and homage to an adolescent activity that while not very important, is a signifier of communal exchange.

Matt Browning

Deep Space Punctuated by Planets (installation view), 2008

S.O.I.L Gallery, Seattle

“Deep Space Punctuated by Planets is an exhibition that brings together a group of artists who address personal perceptions of environment as a central fixation and source of creative inquiry in their practices. Jonathan Hudak, Eric Elliot, Whiting Tennis and Matt Browning share a common commitment to the ways in which space can be activated and can elicit visceral disturbance in observers.

The primary objective of this show is to explore how each individual artist's output can be pushed in new directions within the context and proximity of each others' work. Deep Space Punctuated by Planets will deliver an exciting, emotionally charged experience that ricochets between four different perceptions of the roles space, time, and object play in building unique and effective environments.”  --SOIL Press Release

Matt Browning

Home Field Advantage (installation view), 2008

Crawl Space Gallery, Seattle

“Crawl Space is pleased to present HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE, an exhibition of new sculptural works by member artist Matt Browning. For his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Browning probes the intersections between personal/shared experience, masculine ritual, and the state of male identity. Working with at-hand materials and sporting goods as media, the artist draws from his experiences as witness to and participant in a lifetime of masculine escapades.

“Men seek to carve out identity and acceptance by climbing the tallest tree in youth, establishing athletic prowess in adolescence, or winning reckless drinking competitions in young adulthood. There is beauty and absurdity in this behavior, and my work speaks to both.” --Crawl Space Press Release