Matt Nusslein
Graduating Class 2017
I’ve been drawing and painting for a short amount of time now. I started taking my illustrations more seriously when I was a senior in high school, my notebook doodles were demanding a larger space to exist in. These characters and scenarios I draw are quite loud. My inspiration largely comes from the graphic style of my favorite cartoons and comics of my childhood. During my time in college, I would often draw while sitting under LED strip lights and color changing wall panels. I noticed one day that the hues emitting from my lights would interact with the materials I was putting in my drawings, and I started to create more projects that could display a wide range of saturation, illumination, and light shifting. A large portion of my drawings are experiments with color as much as they are telling a story. I like working with two dominants that are either very contrasting or monochromatic.
Working with neon and black light is especially striking to me because of the interaction with UV light that is invisible to the human eye. I like to think this effect gives my work another dimension to be experienced, something outside what our senses can comprehend is unveiled. I mostly use it as an accent for the overall scheme of what’s going on. A subject can appear normal when the black light is off, but once the switch is flipped suddenly there’s more to be witnessed. Colors will fade away to the black or be brought up to this new foreground, and the eyes can explore the art with different movement. Often times I’m using neon to highlight the iris of eyes, the cracks of lightning, or the swirling winds of interdimensional energy.
Instagram: @a_mossy_rock
Instagram: @nuzznuss11
Working with neon and black light is especially striking to me because of the interaction with UV light that is invisible to the human eye. I like to think this effect gives my work another dimension to be experienced, something outside what our senses can comprehend is unveiled. I mostly use it as an accent for the overall scheme of what’s going on. A subject can appear normal when the black light is off, but once the switch is flipped suddenly there’s more to be witnessed. Colors will fade away to the black or be brought up to this new foreground, and the eyes can explore the art with different movement. Often times I’m using neon to highlight the iris of eyes, the cracks of lightning, or the swirling winds of interdimensional energy.
Instagram: @a_mossy_rock
Instagram: @nuzznuss11
Artwork for the 2022 Darien Alumni Art Show, June 10th - 13th
Beach Boogie - Spray paint and fluorescent acrylic on wood, 30”x 19”, not for sale, 2020
Guh - ink, alcohol markers, fluorescent alcohol markers on sketch paper, 11”x14”, not for sale, 2022
This piece stems from a catch phrase that I coined with some close friends in college. Guh is something of an expressionary statement, and I usually say it under the context that certain stimulation is so satisfying that words and phrases can’t really convey the feeling. On a deeper level, I derived this phrase from when I briefly studied concepts of traditional Japanese aesthetics, especially the concept of yugen (幽玄). I utilize this concept in Guh to convey the subtle vague connections that all people share with each other as well as the greater Earth around us. The philosophy in general calls for disciples to study the subtle profundity of the world around them through things that are only vaguely suggested, such as birds flying in and out of clouds, leaves floating in the distance down a river, or watching the sun set below the horizon. I often find myself caught up in these subtley beautiful moments when I’m out and about in the world, and I wanted to record that feeling surrealistically.
|
Please support this show by donating to our Go Fund Me
There is no charge to attend the show. All costs are covered by donations; if you like, you can donate here through our Go Fund Me page. |