MATTHEW PORTER
WORKS
BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Porter tends to choose distinctly masculine subjects for his cinematic photographs: the Wild West, the loner, roaring muscle cars, the Hindenburg. A wistful nostalgia for American iconography that has been lost or abandoned fills his still frames, allowing the viewer to supply the narrative based on these few preserved fragments. He vacillates between moments of desolation/loneliness and sheer adrenaline/unbounded possibilities verging on nihilism: a cowboy watches the Hindenburg float over the American desert, a bright red classic American car careens off a cliff, smoke pouring out. Porter meticulously culls from adolescent fantasies and Hollywood machinations to craft a uniquely somber and darkly funny niche for his work.
Like Gregory Crewdson and Jeff Wall, Porter’s images are painstakingly crafted images trading on the perceived veracity of photography, long since understood as subterfuge. When asked about his methodology, Porter explains, “I’m interested in authoring my own source material, I need access to the subject. Sometimes I feel like photography is not the best medium for the work I’m making, but I’m determined.”
Porter received a Master of Fine Arts in 2006 from International Center of Photography-Bard, New York and was awarded “The John Bard Award for Excellence in Photography”. His work has been exhibited worldwide and in 2012 was selected for a group exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Porter was invited as a featured artist for the SCOPE Miami Art Fair 2008, and his work has appeared in national and international publications including Photo District News “30 New and Emerging Photographers in 2003“. It is interesting to note that the artist is the grandson of famed color landscape photography pioneer Eliot Porter. Matthew Porter lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
EXHIBITIONS
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New York Times, Segal, David, "Hot Wheels in Hot Pursuit of Artifice," January 11, 2013
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Renegade Bus, Burkett, Theresa, and Simek, Lucia, “Art Dialogue: Faded Glory,” May 2009
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The New York Times Magazine, Bai, Matt, “The Way We Live Now: Totaled?,” March 29, 2009
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Morning News, Rosecrans, Baldwin, “High Lonesome, Interview,” December 15, 2008
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Liberation, “Levitation”, Thursday, August 9, 2007
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Capricious, Porter, Matthew (photo essay), “Just Can't Get Enough”, 2007
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Dallas Observer, Merrit, Martin, “Bitchin' Camaro”, December 2006
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Domino, “Art School Photography”, June 2006
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Peek, 2005-2006 Art & Commerce Festival Catalogue
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PDN (Photo District News), Feliciano, Kristina, “PDN's 30: Our Choice of Emerging Photographers to Watch,” January 2004
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