STATEMENT:

My current body of work is an ongoing exploration of landscapes of disregard—places of ruin and abandon, passed through by people and left behind. These uninhabited landscapes continue to inhabit histories and memories, construct countries and cultures; they are the push and pull between man and nature, and just as often between man and himself. At their heart is a sense of lost promise and forgotten dreams, a reminder of an all-encompassing impermanence. These are the remnants industry and ideals, the struggle between urban and rural identities; they are the realities of the mythological American Landscape.

Drawing upon imagery amassed from resources ranging from historical archives to popular websites, I create carefully constructed images of dense and methodical line-work set against the vastness of the empty page. They are slow and meditative pieces, setting a stark and somber mood, carefully seeking a balance between the tight black ink and graphite drawing and the expansive emptiness of the white of the paper.

BIO:

Matthew Trygve Tung was born, raised, and educated in San Francisco, CA, having received his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in spring of 2006. His drawings, prints, and books have been exhibited in San Francisco, Nashville, and New York at galleries including Geras-Tousignant, SQFT, Live Worms, PSII (now Windows Gallery), and the Luggage Store as a part of their Short Cuts program. He was an Osher Memorial Scholar between 2004-2006 and received San Francisco Art Institute's Spring Show Award upon his graduation. From October 2008 to October 2009 he will be in Residency as a Keyholder at the Lower East Side Printshop in New York City.

Matthew relocated to New York in 2006, where he now lives and works, and he returns to San Francisco as often as possible.

(last updated 10/2008)