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Metal Imagined by Matt Clark

Show available:

September 22, 2012 through December 29, 2012

Matt Clark is a lifelong resident of the southern Utah and grew up on a ranch north of St. George. He taught himself to weld and work with metal beginning at age fifteen. As a child he dreamed of becoming a world champion cowboy, but at age 17, he experienced a serious spinal cord injury. After months of hospitalization and rehabilitation the doctors released him with a diagnosis that offered no hope for a future, but something deep inside him said, �Wait a minute. I am going to define my life.�
Thirty-four years later, he still works from a wheelchair. His physical limitations have required him to create his own tools and processes for doing things, but his accident has also gives him the opportunity to recreate himself. Clarks says, �I was bored one afternoon and had a pile of scrap.� He welded up a dinosaur and was surprised to find that �people liked it.� He started by making gifts for friends and family, and then he moved on to selling his work.
The steel, stainless steel, copper, stone and found objects he uses in his art were originally created to perform a specific function but had outlived their usefulness. Clark studies each piece searching for its innate power and then gives it a new life through welding, cutting, grinding, and forging. For him, the transformation of these objects is symbolic of his own journey�of ultimately transcending broken dreams and heartache. His artistic process is a reenactment of his life�s journey.
A capable marketer as well as a sculptor, Clark sells his work in Juniper Sky Gallery in Kayenta, through art festivals, private commissions, and interior designers. His work falls into two main categories: the whimsical and the contemporary both formed of natural rocks and welded metal.
Some of his accomplishments and awards include: 2009 presented with the Art Around the Corner Partner in the Arts award; 2004 purchase award winner for the Art On the Corner competition in Grand Junction, CO; 2004 first place sculpture St. George Art Festival just to name a few.