Colin Matthes : Mary L Nohl Fellowship Established Artist 2012
September 28 - December 15, 2013
COLIN MATTHES’ practice includes painting, drawing, installation, zine and graphic production, and public art projects. Matthes works collectively with Justseeds, a network of twenty-six artists living in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that runs a print collective, contributes graphics to social movements, and co-publishes books. As an individual artist, Matthes has exhibited across Europe and the United States. Solo exhibitions include Artspace Leguit, Antwerp, Belgium and Igloo Gallery, Portland, Oregon; group exhibitions include Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, Munch Gallery, New York, and the Haggerty Museum, Milwaukee. He has participated in many residencies including Hotel Pupik (Austria), Werkkamp (Belgium), and Cow House Studios (Ireland). Matthes won the Marl L Nohl Fellowship for Individual Artists in 2012 (Established) and 2007 (Emerging)
The Green Mini Demo Derby includes a mobile solar electric power generator that fuels a demolition derby made up of remote control cars. Businesses have sponsored race teams, with each team having their own driver, car, and uniform. The cars have customized wood bodies and compete on a plywood course. There will be multiple heats of between 6 and 8 cars, with the winners of each heat competing in a final race for the trophy. These competitions will occur over the course of the Mary L Nohl exhibition at INOVA, Milwaukee, WI, USA with the cars being displayed as they transform.
About the project:
Green Mini Demo Derby brings the worlds of county fairs and alternative energy into collision. Businesses were invited to sponsor a car and share in this absurd, urgent experiment in sustainable destruction. The sponsors, largely companies looking to create ethical business models, can make a game of (and possibly comply with) the capitalist tenets of self-interest and survival of the fittest. The pleasure and pathos of this project is amplified as the viewer watches a local corporate death match wrapped in a cloak of environmental sustainability.
Photography by Paul Mitchell