Interview: Matt Bahen

Interview: Matt Bahen from ArtSync on Vimeo.

Artist: Matt Bahen
Gallery: LE Gallery
Dates: March 2 – April 1, 2012
Interviewed by: Barbara Isherwood
Aired on ArtSync: 30 March 2012

Matt Bahen’s body of work explores the duality of mankind through man’s best friend – cast in the unconventional role of friend and foe. His conversation with Barbara delves into his technique, the hidden references in his work and reveals the fragments that made his work whole. Dogs become the surrogate for man, he explains, “having a dog makes it more inclusive, when you start painting, you start getting into identity politics” (12:03).

Bahen explains his works evoke the stylings of “plein air” paintings. French for “open air” it was a technique popularized in the 19th c. and 20th c. by Impressionist painter, Claude Monet. “Plein air” references paintings created outdoors to capture the effects of light and air and often feature landscapes. Its emergence was facilitated by the creation of portable artist tools – pre-mixed oil pigments and a mobile easel.

- B.Paez