Photograph by: Steve Weinik
ABOUT MAT TOMEZSKO
Mat Tomezsko is an artist creating paintings, murals, and community art projects based around participation, collaboration, and empowerment. He does not center himself in his work, rather he creates a structure in which other people can genuinely contribute to something greater than the sum of its parts. His artwork is based on observation and his approach to composition is informed by formalism and conceptualism. His work was recognized by the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network for outstanding public art.
Tomezsko’s artwork has been exhibited at numerous art spaces regionally and nationally, including the Thomas Hunter Projects in New York, NY; Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago, IL; and the Crane Arts, Woodmere Art Museum, and Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia.
For over 4 years, he has been a Lead Artist with the Mural Arts’ Color Me Back: Same Day Work and Pay Program, an innovative program that combines participatory art-making and access to social services in a unique model offering individuals experiencing economic insecurity an opportunity to earn wages. He is the lead artist for the Garden Wall mural series and is based in the Kensington studio.
His works are included in several public collections including The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, Fox School of Business at Temple University, and Purdue University as well as numerous private and corporate collections such as Capital One in Wilmington, DE; and Deloitte in Philadelphia, PA.
Statement:
I create paintings, public art installations, and community art projects based around participation, collaboration, and processing the experiences and realities that make up our lives. I use materials and visual language from observed social and environmental surroundings to create meaning. I find that meaning through research, discussion, and direct community engagement. In my practice in general, I do not center myself. I invite others to participate in the creative process in order to make a platform for expression that genuinely represents multiple points of view. I see art as a way to engage with the world, learn from one another, and create something that embodies that process. I aim to align the method in which something is made, and what the materials represent, with the concept of the artwork.
While my practice is rooted in collaboration, learning, and dialogue, when it comes to composition, I abide by a framework informed by the painting traditions of abstraction, formalism, and conceptualism. I have extensive professional experience working at art galleries, institutions, non-profits, and publications, and my ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to make contemporary art accessible and inclusive.
SELECTED PRESS
Revolutionary Philadelphia:
Wynorrific Times:
14 Movements:
#1 of Philly's 15 Favorite Murals in 2016
Symbols and Sources:
Jarring:
The City Real & Imagined:
Juvenile In Justice:
Happier and Happier:
Look Long and Look Good:
CONTACT
Paintings available for sale or commission
View more work on my blog:
