Matt Magee

"Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" - Photo Composites (1980 - 2005)

18 September - 6 November, 2021

Matt Magee: Animal Vegetable Mineral / Photo Composites (1980-2005) is a survey of a body of photographic works that spans nearly three decades.  Beginning in 1980, Magee began shooting 35mm film with a Rollei camera, and abutted commercially developed 3 1/2 x 5 inch color prints together in pairs on slightly larger substrates.  By seamlessly combining two images in each work, Magee poetically synthesized a new whole.  The subjects of Magee’s images are quite varied, but have several consistent points of connectivity that are bookended by everyday observations and constructed or performed scenarios. These include the likenesses of friends, lovers, and family, scenes from travel, as well as objects from nature and culture.  The physicality of these printed objects situates them firmly in a pre-digital era, before the ubiquity of digital cameras and the decline of commercial photo labs in the 2000s.  This body of nearly one thousand works functions both as a personal archive and as a visual framework that encapsulates Magee’s foundational approach to image making, which is evident in his wide ranging practice that includes painting, sculpture, and printmaking.