Hans + Gieves
statement:
the Loop project
The Loop project is a collaboration between painter Hans Schmitt-Matzen
and photographer Gieves Anderson. The works in the Loop series comprise
a two-part cycle. We first select one of Gieves’ photographs to
conceptually and formally influence the path of Hans’ painting. The
combination of these photographic and painted elements amounts to a
finished work that is the first part of the sequence. The initial works
are given the designation “a” in the series titles. After the completion
of the first phase, Gieves begins the second stage by converting the
painting back into a photograph. The resulting photographic print then
stimulates another painting that becomes the second phase and
establishes a literal cycle of cause-and-effect relationships within and
between the works. These consequential artworks are designated in the
series titles as “b.” This closed system metaphorically suggests a
reenactment of art’s history—in which all that is made is influenced by
what existed previously.
the Tangent project
The Tangent
series is Hans’ personal investigation of other aesthetic paths that
Gieves’ original images might have traveled. With this series, Hans
seeks to engender a web of causality more complex than the linear
relationships recognizable in the Loop series. These works allow each
cause to have more than one effect, broadening the scope of the overall
artistic system to bring it more in synch with the causal complexity
that exists in the world. The artworks interact with history by
mimicking the way that it is formed.
Cross Reference
Most of the photographs in these artworks were taken in libraries. We
were attracted to libraries initially because these spaces are designed
to foster contemplation. We discovered that libraries offer subtle,
painterly aesthetics if one is willing to peer through the banality.
When one lets one’s eyes pan across the rolling spines of books lining
each shelf, it can be very similar to reading a ribbon-like paint stroke
unfolding across a canvas. The manifestation of this “gestural”
photographic language was the inspiration for much of the paint handling
within the artworks.
The series title Cross-Reference borrows a library term to metaphorically imply that the mediums of photography and paint are indispensably linked within these artworks. Each medium makes citations to the other.
education:
Hans Schmitt-Matzen and Gieves are two graduates of Middle Tennessee
University (BFA's in Painting and Photography respectively) and have
been very active on the local Nashville and regional scene. They see
their work as a true collaboration as they introduce themes (Tangents
and Loops) as individual artists, react to each other's ideas, and then
mediate a final piece.
exhibitions:
Straight-line Ending
Switchyard IV
The Cause
artist's website:
see also: