matthew ivan cherry
I am an artist fixated on the face, head, and body and all that makes up a portrait and contributes to a dialogue on identity. I transcribe my responses and interpretation of what I observe through layers of colors and the sheer accumulation of marks which results in a pile of thoughts made manifest by considered and expressed responses of what I see...and what I don't.
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"My only duty is to describe reality as it has come to me and to give the mundane its beautiful due." - John Updike
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The archive on this page contains a catalog of my artwork in chronological order.
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click the "face it!" link (below) to view my current projects. email me if you would like to collaborate and contribute to my art. I am looking for "some-BODIES" from all over the world who are willing to share themselves and participate.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
Sometimes…When I Watch the Dark Knight…I Think About the Arnolfini Wedding - Aficionado Series
72” x 72” (detail)
Oil on Canvas
2013
Poets and Artists created this short clip of my new work debuting in the exhibition “From Motion to Stillness” at the Zhou B Art Center co-curated by Sergio Gomez and Didi Menendez. A big thanks to both!
Matthew Ivan Cherry
RAD-icalgrid #3
Mathew Samuel - Kutztown, PA -
Samuel w a Lincolnic + Chin Curtain,
Samuel w a G Michaels,
Samuel w a Trident - Fu Manchu + Extended Chin Tuft,
Samuel alla Fidel,
36” x 36” ea.
Oil on Canvas
Hey all of you Chicago friends. I hope you can carve out Friday, Feb 15th to hit this show at the Zhou B Art Center. Come experience some amazing talent.
The Zhou B Art Center in collaboration with PoetsArtists Magazine present February 15 to March 10, 2013:
From Motion to Stillness is an exhibition and a publication seeking to explore aspects of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude, reflection and calmness as a human experience. Despite living in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world, From Motion to Stillness invites the viewer and the reader alike to pause for a moment and experience stillness as interpreted by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists and poets.
From Motion to Stillness takes place in a gallery setting, print and digital formats. The exhibition is co-curated by Sergio Gomez of Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center (www.zbcenter.org) and Didi Menendez of PoetsArtists Magazine (www.poetsandartists.com).DUDES…how cool are you with your hipster do, your mutton chops, your fu manchu? Do you ROCK a BEARD? Do you grow a GOAT…or sport a lil SOUL? Will you let me document you in 4 different styles? Let me paint you and add you to my series. Now thats cool!
Email me for more info.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
The act of modifying one’s face to meet a standard of appropriateness by shaving is not so different than other forms of body modification…it is just one that majority has adopted as professional, aesthetically pleasing and/or appropriate. Throughout history men with facial hair have been ascribed attributes with polar opposite distinctions; on one hand being wise, virile, masculine, holy and on the other; wild, untamed, dirty, of ill repute, or a part of a sub-culture and/or radical intent.
It is the very notion of what is defined as being “radical” that intrigues me.
On one side you have men in radically conservative and/or religious cultures such as; Amish, Mennonite, Hassidic Judaism, Islamic and Muslim followers, and Sikhs who grow beards as signs of holiness and reverence. On the opposite side of the spectrum you have men in in subculture contexts like; bikers, hipsters, rockers, hippies, bears, tree huggers, people of the streets and even academics. Whether conservative or liberal, both sit on opposite sides of of males representing the “mainstream” e.g. from doctors to lawyers or bankers to Mormon Missionaries. The Corporate America “clean” cut look has been adopted as what is becoming, professional, and aesthetically appropriate. For this reason I have become intrigued by those who sport a beard for my series RAD (short for radical).
If you are a dude and are wearing a beard and are willing to modify or document the growth from a clean shaven face to full growth…or if you change the style and are willing to document it for me…please email me to contribute to the project and I will add your face to my RAD series.
All you brothers out there…I need a minimum of 4-8 versions of beards per dude. Pics need to be taken in a mugshot (no smiles/emotions) pose…frontal with no variance and need to be consistent with all four-8 styles or versions of facial hair. Just look at these paintings for a reference. These can be head shots…or full chest and head shots if you have tattoos or piercings.
They will hang in groupings of 4 per subject.
“LEND ME YOUR bEARds…show me your RADical”
Matthew Ivan Cherry
RAD-ical
grid #3
Mathew Samuel Kutztown, PA
Samuel alla Fidel
36” x 36”
Oil on Canvas
Hey all of you Chicago friends. I hope you can carve out Friday, Feb 15th to hit this show at the Zhou B Art Center. Come experience some amazing talent.
The Zhou B Art Center in collaboration with PoetsArtists Magazine present February 15 to March 10, 2013:
From Motion to Stillness is an exhibition and a publication seeking to explore aspects of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude, reflection and calmness as a human experience. Despite living in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world, From Motion to Stillness invites the viewer and the reader alike to pause for a moment and experience stillness as interpreted by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists and poets.
From Motion to Stillness takes place in a gallery setting, print and digital formats. The exhibition is co-curated by Sergio Gomez of Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center (www.zbcenter.org) and Didi Menendez of PoetsArtists Magazine (www.poetsandartists.com).DUDES…how cool are you with your hipster do, your mutton chops, your fu manchu? Do you ROCK a BEARD? Do you grow a GOAT…or sport a lil SOUL? Will you let me document you in 4 different styles? Let me paint you and add you to my series. Now thats cool!
Email me for more info.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
The act of modifying one’s face to meet a standard of appropriateness by shaving is not so different than other forms of body modification…it is just one that majority has adopted as professional, aesthetically pleasing and/or appropriate. Throughout history men with facial hair have been ascribed attributes with polar opposite distinctions; on one hand being wise, virile, masculine, holy and on the other; wild, untamed, dirty, of ill repute, or a part of a sub-culture and/or radical intent.
It is the very notion of what is defined as being “radical” that intrigues me.
On one side you have men in radically conservative and/or religious cultures such as; Amish, Mennonite, Hassidic Judaism, Islamic and Muslim followers, and Sikhs who grow beards as signs of holiness and reverence. On the opposite side of the spectrum you have men in in subculture contexts like; bikers, hipsters, rockers, hippies, bears, tree huggers, people of the streets and even academics. Whether conservative or liberal, both sit on opposite sides of of males representing the “mainstream” e.g. from doctors to lawyers or bankers to Mormon Missionaries. The Corporate America “clean” cut look has been adopted as what is becoming, professional, and aesthetically appropriate. For this reason I have become intrigued by those who sport a beard for my series RAD (short for radical).
If you are a dude and are wearing a beard and are willing to modify or document the growth from a clean shaven face to full growth…or if you change the style and are willing to document it for me…please email me to contribute to the project and I will add your face to my RAD series.
All you brothers out there…I need a minimum of 4-8 versions of beards per dude. Pics need to be taken in a mugshot (no smiles/emotions) pose…frontal with no variance and need to be consistent with all four-8 styles or versions of facial hair. Just look at these paintings for a reference. These can be head shots…or full chest and head shots if you have tattoos or piercings.
They will hang in groupings of 4 per subject.
“LEND ME YOUR bEARds…show me your RADical”
Matthew Ivan Cherry
RAD-ical
grid #3
Mathew Samuel Kutztown, PA
Samuel w a Lincolnic + a Chin Curtain
36” x 36”
Oil on Canvas
Hey all of you Chicago friends. I hope you can carve out Friday, Feb 15th to hit this show at the Zhou B Art Center. Come experience some amazing talent.
The Zhou B Art Center in collaboration with PoetsArtists Magazine present February 15 to March 10, 2013:
From Motion to Stillness is an exhibition and a publication seeking to explore aspects of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude, reflection and calmness as a human experience. Despite living in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world, From Motion to Stillness invites the viewer and the reader alike to pause for a moment and experience stillness as interpreted by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists and poets.
From Motion to Stillness takes place in a gallery setting, print and digital formats. The exhibition is co-curated by Sergio Gomez of Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center (www.zbcenter.org) and Didi Menendez of PoetsArtists Magazine (www.poetsandartists.com).DUDES…how cool are you with your hipster do, your mutton chops, your fu manchu? Do you ROCK a BEARD? Do you grow a GOAT…or sport a lil SOUL? Will you let me document you in 4 different styles? Let me paint you and add you to my series. Now thats cool!
Email me for more info.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
The act of modifying one’s face to meet a standard of appropriateness by shaving is not so different than other forms of body modification…it is just one that majority has adopted as professional, aesthetically pleasing and/or appropriate. Throughout history men with facial hair have been ascribed attributes with polar opposite distinctions; on one hand being wise, virile, masculine, holy and on the other; wild, untamed, dirty, of ill repute, or a part of a sub-culture and/or radical intent.
It is the very notion of what is defined as being “radical” that intrigues me.
On one side you have men in radically conservative and/or religious cultures such as; Amish, Mennonite, Hassidic Judaism, Islamic and Muslim followers, and Sikhs who grow beards as signs of holiness and reverence. On the opposite side of the spectrum you have men in in subculture contexts like; bikers, hipsters, rockers, hippies, bears, tree huggers, people of the streets and even academics. Whether conservative or liberal, both sit on opposite sides of of males representing the “mainstream” e.g. from doctors to lawyers or bankers to Mormon Missionaries. The Corporate America “clean” cut look has been adopted as what is becoming, professional, and aesthetically appropriate. For this reason I have become intrigued by those who sport a beard for my series RAD (short for radical).
If you are a dude and are wearing a beard and are willing to modify or document the growth from a clean shaven face to full growth…or if you change the style and are willing to document it for me…please email me to contribute to the project and I will add your face to my RAD series.
All you brothers out there…I need a minimum of 4-8 versions of beards per dude. Pics need to be taken in a mugshot (no smiles/emotions) pose…frontal with no variance and need to be consistent with all four-8 styles or versions of facial hair. Just look at these paintings for a reference. These can be head shots…or full chest and head shots if you have tattoos or piercings.
They will hang in groupings of 4 per subject.
“LEND ME YOUR bEARds…show me your RADical”
Matthew Ivan Cherry
RAD-ical
grid #3
Mathew Samuel Kutztown, PA
Samuel w a Trident - Fu Manchu + Extended Chin Tuft
36” x 36”
Oil on Canvas
Hey all of you Chicago friends. I hope you can carve out Friday, Feb 15th to hit this show at the Zhou B Art Center. Come experience some amazing talent.
The Zhou B Art Center in collaboration with PoetsArtists Magazine present February 15 to March 10, 2013:
From Motion to Stillness is an exhibition and a publication seeking to explore aspects of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude, reflection and calmness as a human experience. Despite living in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world, From Motion to Stillness invites the viewer and the reader alike to pause for a moment and experience stillness as interpreted by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists and poets.
From Motion to Stillness takes place in a gallery setting, print and digital formats. The exhibition is co-curated by Sergio Gomez of Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center (www.zbcenter.org) and Didi Menendez of PoetsArtists Magazine (www.poetsandartists.com).DUDES…how cool are you with your hipster do, your mutton chops, your fu manchu? Do you ROCK a BEARD? Do you grow a GOAT…or sport a lil SOUL? Will you let me document you in 4 different styles? Let me paint you and add you to my series. Now thats cool!
Email me for more info.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
The act of modifying one’s face to meet a standard of appropriateness by shaving is not so different than other forms of body modification…it is just one that majority has adopted as professional, aesthetically pleasing and/or appropriate. Throughout history men with facial hair have been ascribed attributes with polar opposite distinctions; on one hand being wise, virile, masculine, holy and on the other; wild, untamed, dirty, of ill repute, or a part of a sub-culture and/or radical intent.
It is the very notion of what is defined as being “radical” that intrigues me.
On one side you have men in radically conservative and/or religious cultures such as; Amish, Mennonite, Hassidic Judaism, Islamic and Muslim followers, and Sikhs who grow beards as signs of holiness and reverence. On the opposite side of the spectrum you have men in in subculture contexts like; bikers, hipsters, rockers, hippies, bears, tree huggers, people of the streets and even academics. Whether conservative or liberal, both sit on opposite sides of of males representing the “mainstream” e.g. from doctors to lawyers or bankers to Mormon Missionaries. The Corporate America “clean” cut look has been adopted as what is becoming, professional, and aesthetically appropriate. For this reason I have become intrigued by those who sport a beard for my series RAD (short for radical).
If you are a dude and are wearing a beard and are willing to modify or document the growth from a clean shaven face to full growth…or if you change the style and are willing to document it for me…please email me to contribute to the project and I will add your face to my RAD series.
All you brothers out there…I need a minimum of 4-8 versions of beards per dude. Pics need to be taken in a mugshot (no smiles/emotions) pose…frontal with no variance and need to be consistent with all four-8 styles or versions of facial hair. Just look at these paintings for a reference. These can be head shots…or full chest and head shots if you have tattoos or piercings.
They will hang in groupings of 4 per subject.
“LEND ME YOUR bEARds…show me your RADical”
Matthew Ivan Cherry
RAD-ical
grid #3
Mathew Samuel Kutztown, PA
Samuel w a G Michaels
36” x 36”
Oil on Canvas
Hey all of you Chicago friends. I hope you can carve out Friday, Feb 15th to hit this show at the Zhou B Art Center. Come experience some amazing talent.
The Zhou B Art Center in collaboration with PoetsArtists Magazine present February 15 to March 10, 2013:
From Motion to Stillness is an exhibition and a publication seeking to explore aspects of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude, reflection and calmness as a human experience. Despite living in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world, From Motion to Stillness invites the viewer and the reader alike to pause for a moment and experience stillness as interpreted by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists and poets.
From Motion to Stillness takes place in a gallery setting, print and digital formats. The exhibition is co-curated by Sergio Gomez of Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center (www.zbcenter.org) and Didi Menendez of PoetsArtists Magazine (www.poetsandartists.com).DUDES…how cool are you with your hipster do, your mutton chops, your fu manchu? Do you ROCK a BEARD? Do you grow a GOAT…or sport a lil SOUL? Will you let me document you in 4 different styles? Let me paint you and add you to my series. Now thats cool!
Email me for more info.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
The act of modifying one’s face to meet a standard of appropriateness by shaving is not so different than other forms of body modification…it is just one that majority has adopted as professional, aesthetically pleasing and/or appropriate. Throughout history men with facial hair have been ascribed attributes with polar opposite distinctions; on one hand being wise, virile, masculine, holy and on the other; wild, untamed, dirty, of ill repute, or a part of a sub-culture and/or radical intent.
It is the very notion of what is defined as being “radical” that intrigues me.
On one side you have men in radically conservative and/or religious cultures such as; Amish, Mennonite, Hassidic Judaism, Islamic and Muslim followers, and Sikhs who grow beards as signs of holiness and reverence. On the opposite side of the spectrum you have men in in subculture contexts like; bikers, hipsters, rockers, hippies, bears, tree huggers, people of the streets and even academics. Whether conservative or liberal, both sit on opposite sides of of males representing the “mainstream” e.g. from doctors to lawyers or bankers to Mormon Missionaries. The Corporate America “clean” cut look has been adopted as what is becoming, professional, and aesthetically appropriate. For this reason I have become intrigued by those who sport a beard for my series RAD (short for radical).
If you are a dude and are wearing a beard and are willing to modify or document the growth from a clean shaven face to full growth…or if you change the style and are willing to document it for me…please email me to contribute to the project and I will add your face to my RAD series.
All you brothers out there…I need a minimum of 4-8 versions of beards per dude. Pics need to be taken in a mugshot (no smiles/emotions) pose…frontal with no variance and need to be consistent with all four-8 styles or versions of facial hair. Just look at these paintings for a reference. These can be head shots…or full chest and head shots if you have tattoos or piercings.
They will hang in groupings of 4 per subject.
“LEND ME YOUR bEARds…show me your RADical”
Maddie, Raul, Giulio, Ramon
Punk hawk (colored or dyed), 12” high Liberty spikes, deathhawk, psychobilly or quiff, frohawk, chelsea hawk, dreadhawk, lazy hawk, fanhawk, rayhawk, warhawk, shark fin, V-Cut, reverse mohawk, nohawk, hawkmo, fauxhawk, eurohawk, ponyhawk, curly hawk, beavertails, dread-hawks, emo-hawks, twin fins, etc.. WHATEVER YOUR STYLE…if you ROCK IT…I WANT IT!
Email me to participate.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
I started this series having just cut my hair into a mohawk as a way to identify with my two sons; one who had left home for college and one just about to. It was in defiance of my having to let them go; my little rebellion of becoming an empty nester, however slow the process. I connected this transitional phase of my sons growing up and declaring their manhood or adulthood or their independence to a moment in my childhood when my older brother died in a car accident at the age of 19 (I was 15). 5 days before his death, he cut his hair in a mohawk style which completely shocked my parents and the small town where we lived in northeastern Arizona. The shock of his “extreme” hairstyle now seems a ridiculous and casual preface to the shock of his death we experienced just a few days later…a kind of “pre-echo”. ”Remember when Kevin cut his hair in a Mohawk”…is now always followed by the silent recognition of his violent death just a few days later. They are forever synonymous in my recollection. I have seldom given his haircut much thought since then until recently when my sons cut their hair in the form of a mohawk. Now I see his face everywhere nearly 30 years later in the occasional face of someone sportin’ a mohawk on the streets…a reminder of him or lack thereof in my immediate presence. Its arresting to see an unfamiliar face become recognizable and familiar and intimate though foreign. Its startling how time bends…and pain and joy re-surfaces and wraps the past toward the immediate present. Its surreal how a memory can place you back into a location though miles away.
Spread the word. You may not have one…but I bet you know someone who does. Re-post on your sites and direct people my way. Thanks!
MO series
Punk hawk (colored or dyed), 12” high Liberty spikes, deathhawk, psychobilly or quiff, frohawk, chelsea hawk, dreadhawk, lazy hawk, fanhawk, rayhawk, warhawk, shark fin, V-Cut, reverse mohawk, nohawk, hawkmo, fauxhawk, eurohawk, ponyhawk, curly hawk, beavertails, dread-hawks, emo-hawks, twin fins, etc.. WHATEVER YOUR STYLE…if you ROCK IT…I WANT IT!
Email me to participate.
Matthew Ivan Cherry
I started this series having just cut my hair into a mohawk as a way to identify with my two sons; one who had left home for college and one just about to. It was in defiance of my having to let them go; my little rebellion of becoming an empty nester, however slow the process. I connected this transitional phase of my sons growing up and declaring their manhood or adulthood or their independence to a moment in my childhood when my older brother died in a car accident at the age of 19 (I was 15). 5 days before his death, he cut his hair in a mohawk style which completely shocked my parents and the small town where we lived in northeastern Arizona. The shock of his “extreme” hairstyle now seems a ridiculous and casual preface to the shock of his death we experienced just a few days later…a kind of “pre-echo”. ”Remember when Kevin cut his hair in a Mohawk”…is now always followed by the silent recognition of his violent death just a few days later. They are forever synonymous in my recollection. I have seldom given his haircut much thought since then until recently when my sons cut their hair in the form of a mohawk. Now I see his face everywhere nearly 30 years later in the occasional face of someone sportin’ a mohawk on the streets…a reminder of him or lack thereof in my immediate presence. Its arresting to see an unfamiliar face become recognizable and familiar and intimate though foreign. Its startling how time bends…and pain and joy re-surfaces and wraps the past toward the immediate present. Its surreal how a memory can place you back into a location though miles away.
Spread the word. You may not have one…but I bet you know someone who does. Re-post on your sites and direct people my way. Thanks!
