DOMINGO, LOS DIECISIETE DE ENERO VEINTE-DIECISEIS

A new collaborative work between myself and JK Russ titled 'The Release', 2016, collage and oil on metal, 14” x 11”. We usually start with a regular-sized piece of aluminum that I commonly work on, I'll paint a standard backdrop in oil, then hand it over to JK Russ and she finds collage elements to place on the backdrop. After JK has finished, we talk about the images, configuration of forms and placement then talk about what is the best way to complete the work in oil paint. The best works or examples are the one that find a perfect conflation of our ideas and signifiers.

JUEVES, EL DIECEOCHO DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DOCE

New article by Kristine Walsh in the Gisborne Herald newspaper for my upcoming exhibition 'The Whaling and Naching of Teeth': http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/article/?id=29897

DOMINGO, EL VEINTISEIS DE AGOSTO, VEINTE- DOCE

MATTHEW COUPER & ALIOS PRESENT:

‘SKINS & TEETH’

A ONE-NIGHT PREVIEW AND PUBLICATION LAUNCH

Thursday, September 13th, 2012, 6.00PM - 9.00PM

ALIOS, 1217 S. Main Street, Las Vegas, NV 89104, USA

Downtown Las Vegas-based artist Matthew Couper will be presenting new artworks at ALIOS before traveling to Australia, New Zealand and Spain for upcoming solo and group exhibitions. The ‘one-night only preview’ will present 14 unstretched oil paintings on canvas, a similar number of corresponding incised scrimshaw teeth and a Biombo maquette.

The title of the preview references the hanging, distressed canvases that Couper sends unstretched for ease of transportation to various galleries that represent his art. The teeth refer to the scrimshandered whales’ teeth which feature similar symbolism to the large paintings. Couper continues his anachronistic adaptation of Spanish Colonial painting to present issues of survival as an artist, art as historical currency and reactions to his new home of Las Vegas.

“I’ve been wanting to present the paintings and scrimshaw teeth to friends and interested parties in Las Vegas because the primary motivation for the works now come from here in Las Vegas and the machinations of the Strip - this amazing humanist construct in the middle of a harsh, arid desert. These new paintings provide a conduit between my status as a ‘new arrival’ and my dissection of Las Vegas as an unique place to make art” says Couper.

Viewers familiar with Couper’s art practice will be able to see corresponding paintings and scrimshaw en masse relating to recent performances such as the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada and paintings exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center, Winchester Cultural Center, Blackbird Studios, ATM in Las Vegas, and Pop Up Art House in Henderson.

Because the artworks in the preview are ear-marked for exhibitions elsewhere, Couper’s new publication Thirty-Three will be available to purchase. The full-color, 80-page catalog accompanies his current traveling exhibition in New Zealand, with an essay by anthropologist and author Dr. Peter J. Howland.

CONTACT:
Matthew Couper, info@mattcouper.com. Phone: (510) 936-4052
For more information on the artist, upcoming events and video footage:

http://www.mattcouper.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKR5PVBbrnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4fa_D8loYM

http://www.londonbiennale.tk

Location:

http://www.alios.com

CALENDAR EDITORS:
Date: 9/13/12
Time: 6:00PM-9:00PM
What: ‘SKINS & TEETH’ -a one-night preview and publication launch. Artworks by Matthew Couper

Where: ALIOS, 1217 S. Main Street, Las Vegas, NV 89104, USA
Tickets: Free, publication ‘Thirty-Three’ available for purchase

VIERNES, EL DIEZ DE AGOSTO, VEINTE DOCE

MATTHEW COUPER : DESERT INVENTORY -- COLLECTING CONTEXT IN LAS VEGAS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4fa_D8loYM

Film by Eric Minh Swenson. Music by Mountaineater

Los Angeles filmmaker Eric Minh Swenson traveled to Las Vegas to visit New Zealand-born artist Matthew Couper, who recently immigrated to the USA.

In his apartment in Las Vegas, Couper's collection of religious Spanish Colonial paintings from Mexico provide a rich cache of narrative and allegory that inform the artist's reactions to his new and unique environment. Over the past two years, Couper's paintings have collected and collated visual and psychological symbols of Las Vegas, culminating in a hybridized form which Huffington Post art writer John Seed suggests is 'a pagan Catholic Cirque du Soleil', accentuating the artist's 'Kafkaesque view of the world'

For more info on Eric Minh Swenson or project inquiries visit his website  www.thuvanarts.com/take1

JUEVES, EL DOS DE AGOSTO DE VENTE DOCE

Just before disassembling my props today, I thought I'd get a photo of my 'Polemical Alchemy' set-up in reference to an 1895 photograph of James Ensor in his studio:

"...The polemical assertion of the act of painting as a subject of aesthetics is more interesting than formalities of visual representation manifested by painting. We live in a digital age, where we could easily create graphics and visual aids through computer software and hardware yet the persistence of painting is still a mystery or perhaps an alchemy. Like James Ensor's paintings of death skulls/bones come to life or Matthew Couper's paintings about turning shit into gold, the alchemical power of the very act of painting is undeniable - transforming material entity into a metaphysical state..." - Jevijoe Vitug

MIERCOLES, EL VEINTICINCO DE JULIO, VEINTE DOCE

Two photographs of 'Polemical Alchemy' at the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada performances at Pop Up Art House, 21st of July 2012. Photographs by Frankie Henriquez.

www.londonbiennale.tk

SABATO, EL CATORCE DE JULIO, VEINTE-DOCE

2012 LONDON BIENNALE IN NEVADA
It's now only a week before the performances for the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada take place at Pop Up Art House in Henderson/Las Vegas. Please visit the website here and check out all the details: http://www.londonbiennale.tk
or you can download the press release here:
http://londonbiennale.mattcouper.com/press/OFFICIAL_London_Biennale_Nevada_2012_Press_Release.pdf

VIERNES, EL VIENTI DOS DE JUNIO, VEINTI DOCE

The London Biennale Satellite Project in conjunction with Pop Up Art House and the Contemporary Arts Center presents

Rainbow: 7 Colors 7 Artists

Performance: Saturday, July 21, 7:00PM
Pop Up Art House, 730 W. Sunset, Henderson

http://www.thepopuparthouse.com

Exhibition: September 6-29
Contemporary Arts Center, 107 E. Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas

http://lasvegascac.org/

Seven Las Vegas and Henderson-based artists will take part in the second London Biennale in Nevada satellite event presenting performances inspired by the colors of the rainbow at the Pop Up Art House in Henderson on Saturday, July 21 at 7:00PM. This year’s participation in the London Biennale will extend beyond the one-night-only performance event, Rainbow: 7 Colors 7 Artists, with an exhibition of the documentation behind and of the performances at the Contemporary Arts Center in Las Vegas September 6 through 29. The artists are: Noelle Garcia (red), Eri King (orange), Jevijoe Vitug (yellow), Matthew Couper (green), J K Russ with MzMina Khan (blue), Darren Johnson (indigo) and Brent Holmes (violet).

SABATO, EL NUEVE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DOCE

Three new works in 'ATM' at Creative Space, 1421 S. Commerce St, Las Vegas, NV, USA. 1 June - 31 July, 2012.

left to right: 'Sevil', 'Federal Indulgences' and 'Thompson & Thompson and Thomson', all 2012,
ink, acrylic, graphite, wax and ribbon on Bristol paper, 12" x 9" (frame: 15" x 12"), USD360.00 each:

JUEVES, EL DIEZ DE MAYO, VEINTE-DOCE

Works packed, all ready to be shipped to PG Contemporary in Houston, Texas.

JUEVES, EL UNO DE MARZO, VEINTE-DOCE
JK Russ's solo exhibition 'Garden of Earthly Delights' opens tonight at 6pm, (artist talk at 7pm) at Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, NV:

MIERCOLES, EL VEINTIDOS DE FEBRERO, VEINTE-DOCE
As promised, here are some more photos of the Salon Show opening at Pop Up Art House in Las Vegas/Henderson via JK Russ's Photo Journal.

(photo courtesy of JK Russ)

SABATO, EL DIECIOCHO DE FEBRERO, VEINTE-DOCE
Tonight in Las Vegas, I've got some paintings and a couple of painted objects in The Salon Show at Pop Up Art House on Sunset on the 95. Here's a sneak peek. Will post more photos of the opening a bit later on.

MARTES, EL SIETE DE FEBRERO, VEINTE-DOCE
screen shot of the Las Vegas episode of The Ethical Hedonist. Presenter Bob Kelly came to Las Vegas to not only check out the casinos but to see what type of art is being made here. He visited Jo and I in our studios and then we took him around the local 'Arts Factory'. The photo below was part of the filming at Blackbird Studios.
From the website:
'Las Vegas: Bob Kelly time in Las Vegas starts by experiencing some of the hedonistic highlights of the city: incredible hotels, swim up blackjack, huge trampolines, big shows and helicopter rides over the nearby grand canyon, before meeting up with some true Las Vegans and going out to a local burlesque evening. It is then time for Bob to start giving back so he offers himself for a day volunteering with international organisation, Habitat for Humanity, who build low cost housing for families in need. Being a big fan of golf, Bob then arranges a round with members of the local Native American nation, the Paiute, at the course they own where he learns more about the current state of their culture. Bob is lucky to meet Oscar B Goodman, the ex-mayor and ultimate spokesperson for Las Vegas, and spend some time following this charismatic gentleman to his appointments and engagements. Finally, he is taking a helicopter ride out of the city for the day to fly over, and land in the Grand Canyon. Duration: 60'

EL TRENTI Y UNO DE DECIEMBRE, VENITE-ONCE
My last painting of 2011 (2012 defeating 2011) - started this morning and almost finished bar some text on the shield and title, date etc. Oil on tin, 14" x 11", based on San Miguel figure represented in Spanish Colonial painting.

JUEVES, EL VIENTINUEVE DE DECIEMBRE, VEINTE-ONCE
Half a year's worth of swarf:

SABATO, EL VEINTISEIS DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-ONCE
back to work (photo by JK Russ):

MIERCOLES, EL NUEVE DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-ONCE
John Seed of The Huffington Post has published an article on my paintings, practice and context:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/matt-couper-painter_b_1080307.html

MARTES, EL UNO DE NOVEMBRE, VEINTE-ONCE
My painting, 'Syncretism Of The Halves' (2010, oil on loose canvas, 74" x 65") will be exhibited in 'Life In Death' at the Winchester Cultural Center, Las Vegas. The exhibition opens on 29 October and runs through 12 November 2011. Trifecta Gallery director Marty Walsh will announce the Best of Show Award in the gallery at 6 p.m. Tuesday, 1st November.
Current Exhibitions:
2nd Annual Santa Muerte Music & Arts Festival, Sacred Machine,
Tucson, AZ, USA, 28 Oct - 31 Dec 2011
Dia de los Muertos, El Museo Cultural De Santa Fe,
555 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, NM, USA 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2011
Life in Death, Winchester Cultural Center,
3130 McLeod Drive, Las Vegas, NV, USA 29 October - 12 November 2011
Rua (group exhibiton), HuiHui,
50a Ossian St, Napier, New Zealand 28 October - 9 December 2011
Upcoming Exhibitions:
Celebrating Existence: A Show of Atheism, Blackbird Studios,
1551 S Commerce St, Las Vegas, NV, USA 3 - 26 November 2011
Inaugural Exhibition, Hands On Art Gallery,
8530 West Sunset Rd., Suite 345, Las Vegas, NV, USA 11 Nov 2011 - 29 Jan 2012
Look, See Group Show, SmallWorks Gallery,
87 Bromley Street, Brisbane, Australia, 25 November 2011 - 22 January 2012
[Group exhibition], Light and Space Contemporary,
53 Fairlane St. West Fairview, 1118 Quezon City, Philippines, January 2012
Exhibition, Philomena Gabriel Contemporary,
3227 1/2 Milam Street, Houston, TX, USA, 18 May - 16 June 2012

LUNES, EL VEINTICUATRO DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-ONCE
Hello All,
With the upcoming Dia De Los Muertos festivals here in the USA, I have work in several exhibitions around the country.
At present, I have two paintings in a group exhibition, '10,000 Skeletons' at 222 Imperial, a new art gallery in Las Vegas. My work can be seen on their Facebook Page. (until 31 October 2011)
Upcoming exhibitions with a Dia De Los Muertos theme are:
'Dia de los Muertos', El Museo Cultural De Santa Fe, 555 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, NM, USA 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2011
'2nd Annual Santa Muerte Music & Arts Festival', Sacred Machine, Tucson, AZ, USA, 28 Oct - 31 Dec 2011
'Life in Death', Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, Las Vegas, NV, USA 29 October - 12 November 2011
Other upcoming group exhibitions include:
HuiHui, a one-night-only group exhibition, 50a Ossian St, Napier, New Zealand 28 Oct 2011
Celebrating Existence, Blackbird Studios, 1551 S Commerce St, Las Vegas, NV, USA 3 - 26 November 2011
If you'd like any higher resolution image of the paintings in the upcoming exhibition, please let me know.