Matt Connors

Matt Connors approaches painting as both a formal and conceptual pursuit, examining the intricate mechanisms of image-making and perception. Experimenting with process, structure, and surface, his paintings are rooted in direct observation while simultaneously drawing from a broad network of references—including photography, found images, music, poetry, art, architecture and design. Typically beginning with a particular line of inquiry or detail, Connors’ artmaking involves a process of translating his subjects into images by employing visual strategies such as accumulation, scale shifts, replication, reversals, distortion and mirroring. Connors’ works consequently develop their own internal logic, guided by structure, pattern, rhythm and colour, while remaining open to improvisation. This distinctive approach initiates a non-linear, open-ended dialogue between form, style, material, and meaning, inviting multiple interpretations.

Connor’s oeuvre therefore functions as a diffuse network of ideas, rather than being bound by a singular style, unified by his methodological approach. His practice is inherently generative, creating clusters of interrelated yet morphologically distinct works—reflecting his engagement with the world as a form of thinking through images.

Matt Connors (b. 1973, Chicago) lives and works in New York and Los Angeles. He was included in the 2022 edition of the Whitney Biennial, Quiet as It's Kept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Other institutional exhibitions include: Goldsmith CCA, London (2024); Lismore Castle, Waterford, Ireland (2022); Le Consortium, Dijon (2018); Kunstmuseum Bonn (2015); MoMA, New York (2014) Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2013); MoMA PS1, New York (2012), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany (2011). In 2015, Matt Connors was a resident at the Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas. In 2012, he published the award-winning book A Bell is a Cup.