Matt Smith Chavez
For better or for worse, I spend a lot of time on my iPhone. I’m
usually thumbing through Facebook or Instagram, and most of
the time I’m looking at something related to painting. I follow
various artists and galleries on Instagram, and when I find an
interesting painting, I do a quick screen grab and save the image
for later. I must have hundreds of these images on my phone—like
everyone else, I’m first and foremost a visual consumer.
Inevitably, my painting practice exists within this larger context of
digital media and consumption. I’m interested in the dead flatness
of the canvas and the computer screen, and I excavate for marks
and strategies that can speak to both surfaces simultaneously.
Ultimately, my working process is a means to pose the question
of how to sustain a meaningful painting practice within the visual
economy.