statement

Death is the mother of beauty. — Wallace Stevens

Michael Fallon, art critic and writer, states about my art: "Ultimately, [the artist's] work is poignant because [the artist] wrests beauty out of items that symbolize and embody the immateriality of life. Whereas most of us are bemused by our mortality, [the artist] exhibits a clear-eyed view of life and things. Instead of nostalgizing objects, or idealizing their presence in our lives, or idealizing life itself, he seeks instead to work with the objects as they are, and to keep an eye on the shadows they cast on the wall. That is, for [the artist], bright plastic trinkets, or cast-off pieces of shiny material, or hanging luminescent decorations—all of these are exactly what they are. But at the same time, [the artist] is aware that these objects project something—a shadow, a halo-glow, a particular essence—beyond their mere physical presence."

bio

born: Geneva, Illinois

education

University of Wisconsin-Madison, MFA, 1998
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, BA, Psychology, 1990
Lacoste School of the Arts, Lacoste, France

selected awards/honors

Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Fellowship/Grant, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2014
Univ. of Wisconsin-Stout Professional Development Grant, 2006, 2009, 2012
MCAD/Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship, 2002-2003
Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship, 2002

selected publications

Professional Lighting Design Magazine, Sonja Kiekens, "Perhaps its in my blood", Gueterslosh, Germany, Nov. 25, 2013
BeautifulDecay.Com, Nathaniel Smith, "Charles Matson Lume's Ethereal Light Works", Sept. 26, 2013
Openlettermonthly.com, John Cotter, "Do what the clouds do…", Cover Artist and interview for Sept, 2011
rt Notes: International Art Magazine, n°32, Andrea Neustein, "Smoke+Mirrors/Shadows+Fog", p. 60, 2010

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Drake University, Anderson Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa, 2014
Augsburg College, Gage Art Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2013
Walker's Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2012
Babel Kunst, Trondheim, Norway, 2009

selected group shows

Kendall College School of Art & Design in conjunction with ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013
Sadie; Halie Projects, Brooklyn, New York, 2012
University of Toledo, CVA Art Gallery, Ohio, 2010
Hunter College/Time Square Gallery, New York, New York, 2010