MONOTYPES & MAGIC
Matt Phillips
September 16th 5:30 pm – 8 pm
at Wheatgrass Saloon Gallery
120 N. Main, Livingston, MT
Join us upstairs at Wheatgrass Saloon for an evening with Matt Phillips and the opportunity to view his photographs and monotypes from 1997-2005.
Exhibit: Matt Phillips has played a leading role in the history of the American monotype. In contrast to painting directly on a canvas, there is always a strong element of chance in any successfully printed monotype. His improvised technique combines collage and monotype to create a multi-layered, dynamically textured image and furthers the level of chance. This is exactly what attracts Phillips, an amateur magician, to the medium. In addition to a selection of monotypes, his photographs capture the neon and the magic of Las Vegas at nighttime.
Background: Phillips was born in New York City in 1927. He initially pursued a career as a poet and in 1952 earned an MA in literature from the University of Chicago. At the same time, he was studying art at the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania. Not content with the collections of modern art in the U.S., Phillips traveled throughout Europe and studied painting in the museums and studios there. He taught briefly in Paris but returned to the U.S. in 1964 to teach at Bard College in New York. Having retired from Bard in 1987, he now devotes his time to exhibitions, travel and guest lectures.
