Jeff Matsuno: 2008

New Direction

Pantages
2008 Mixed Media
in 36 x 30 x 3

Grafitti Wars
2008 Mixed Media
in 36 x 30 x 3

I recently decided to start a series of works depicting Los Angeles. The idea has crossed my mind many times but I never quite found a way "into" the subject matter, which happens to be my hometown. I took these photos a year ago and finally got around to making the work these past few months. The funny thing was I revisited Downtown L.A. this past weekend to search for more subjects and found that each of the three buildings I depicted have changed. The building in "Grafitti Wars" has been totally restored and the graffiti is long gone. The Pantages building was also without grafitti. The Broadway Arcade Building seems to be in the process of restoration and the written signage I depicted has been removed. This used to always happen to buildings I chose for subject matter in Venice, Italy as well. No sooner than I made a work than the buildings would be restored. I used to joke that I had to make my work before they restored everything. It's funny how my work becomes a kind of historical document- documenting an ephemeral patina, a moment in time when decay and, in some cases graffiti defines a monument and then is gone, while the monument remains.

Broadway Arcade Building

2008 Mixed Media

in 27 x 35 x 3

Old Favorites

I would imagine that every artist has a few paintings that he/she regrets selling. These are a few of mine.

Tintoretto (Scuola Grande di San Rocco)
2003 Mixed Media
in 27 x 17 x 2 *

Farmacia (Ospedale di San Zanipolo)

2002 MIxed Media

in 27 x 17 x 2 *

The subject of this portal is a door on the facade of the main hospital in Venice. The hospital fronts Campo San Giovanni e Paolo (Zanipolo is Venetian dialect). The doors have since been repainted. The lover's graffiti (TVTB, which is written on the door, meaning, "ti voglio tanto bene" or "I love you") is gone.

Sotoportego del Banco Giro

I Margini Centrali (Sotoportego del Banco Giro) *
2002 Mixed Media
in 14 x 16 x 1

The "sotoportego" (covered colonade) in question is just behind the row of souvenir street vendors at the famous "Ponte Rialto." There are a whole row of these warehouses where the street vendors would store their carts at night. Kind of a decrepit place. This past year, 2008, We found the whole area had been restored and was now a row of beautiful, upscale trattorias and osteria (wine bars). Kind of nice. However, crusty old subjects of my interest are gone.

"Margini Centrali" means on the "margins of the center." The title was meant to describe how this "marginal" place, all run down, could coexist with the Ponte Rialto, one of the central points of Venice.

Exhibition at JG Gallery, 2008

2993 (Fili - Bianco e Nero)

2993 (Fili Bianco e Nero)

2007 Mixed Media

in 48 x 48 x 8

3397 (Sotoportego Porton dei Mori)

2007 Mixed Media

in 48 x 48 x 8 - cm 122 x 122 x 20

Niente O

2007 Mixed Media

in 48 x 48 x 8 - cm 122 x 122 x 20

detail

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Genesis- "The wall is more beautiful..."

These works began while visiting the "Biennale" ( the biannual international art exhibit in Venice, Italy) with an architect friend. At one of the exhibits, located in a old, deconsecrated church, my friend commented, "I think the wall it's on is more beautiful than the artwork."

He was right. The wall held fantastic patterns of mold and mildew which seemed to emanate from behind the sculpture. I spent the rest of the day wandering Venice, searching for the abstract patterns of decay adorning the building of the ancient city. How could I capture that beauty artistically?

I began to experiment. I didn't want to do photography or traditional painting because they were both flat and even glossy, attributes antithetical to the textures I saw in the walls.

After a year or so of experimenting I moved back to Venice...

The Stroll and The Hunt

My paintings begin with a stroll around Venice. This is always very enjoyable. Venetians say Americans walk in fifth gear. From them I had to learn how to walk in first gear. At first it's almost uncomfortably slow. It's not about getting anywhere, it's about being where you are, enjoying both the conversation (if strolling in company) and the view.

Once I started working on the paintings my strolls became hunts. I was hunting for those passages in the walls that held visual interest- either textural, tonal or archaeological.

Once back in the studio the hunt continues, searching for compositional harmony, a frame within the frame of the printed photo.

Then comes the construction...

Craftsmanship

In high school I made (and still make) surfboards. In college I worked for a boatbuilder, lofting sailboat hulls and shaping rudders and keel plugs. After college I worked in many facets of construction- residential remodelling, furniture design and fabrication, even hand carving wood. I used to joke, "I was born to sand."

At the time my various occupations seemed a bit random but they all came together when I started making these paintings.

My paintings are very labor intensive and time consuming. I see no way around that. I believe craftsmanship will outlast trends and styles of art. It is a quality that resonates across centuries and diverse cultures. I hope it is evident in my art.

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