The Philadelphia Museum of Art collaborated with Mural Arts Philadelphia to highlight the work of contemporary Philadelphia artists related to the critically acclaimed exhibition Matisse in the 1930s.
The museum commissioned five local artists to create five murals over five weeks. Inspired by visiting Matisse together and discussing it in the galleries with exhibition curator Matthew Affron, the artists documented their creative processes and met with Affron to view the original creations that resulted from the visit. A video series documenting their work can be found on the museum’s social channels as well as philamuseum.org.
Matisse in the 1930s is on view through January 29, 2023.
About the Artists
The Cart (for Olga M.) by Buy Shaver. Photo by Constance Mensh.
Buy Shaver
Painter/Installation Artist
Philadelphia artist Buy Shaver primarily works site-specifically, joining his work to its ideal location or creating work for a specific venue. He creates abstract compositions and text-based work that appear simple, direct, and seemingly familiar, yet the content and context allow for multiple interpretations. It is this combination that allows his work to be at once straightforward and uncomplicated, yet oddly illusive. He is the author of Moving the Eye Through 2-D Design—A Visual Primer and an Associate and a professor at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Instagram: @buyshaver
Matisse Under the Table by Kathleen Eastwood-Riaño. Photo by Constance Mensh.
Kathleen Eastwood-Riaño
Artist and PMA/Mural Arts Collaborator
Kathleen Eastwood-Riaño is a Philadelphia based artist whose paintings, drawings, and installations investigate intergenerational memory. Her work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions nationally and is held in private collections internationally. She is currently an Assistant Professor at The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.
Instagram: @kathleeneastwoodriano
Still Life with Matisse by Lauren Whearty. Photo by John Carlano.
Lauren Whearty
Artist and PMA/Mural Arts Collaborator
Lauren Whearty is a Philadelphia based painter, educator, and curator, and grew up nearby in Havertown. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University, and her BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She has been a Co-Director at Ortega y Gasset Projects, an artist-run curatorial collective and non-profit in Brooklyn, NY. Lauren currently teaches at The University of the Arts and Tyler School of Art & Architecture in Philadelphia.
Instagram: @lwhearty
The Song by Raymond Saá. Photo by Constance Mensh.
Raymond Saá
Painter
Raymond Saá is a Cuban-American artist working with abstraction and creates work on paper and canvas. Saá’s process-oriented work deconstructs and reconstructs natural elements, generating motifs that reference the artist’s Cuban roots and connect natural forms with an architectural process. Raymond Saá is represented by Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia.
Instagram: @raymond_saa
Sunday Morning by Sierra Montoya Barela. Photo by Constance Mensh.
Sierra Montoya Barela
Painter
Sierra Montoya Barela is an artist living and working in Philadelphia, PA. Barela earned a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Recently, her work has been included in group and solo exhibitions at Post Gallery Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland), Galerie Robertson Arès (Montreal, Canada), David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, Colorado), the Museo de las Americas (Denver, Colorado), and as part of the Octopus Initiative at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, Colorado).
Instagram: @smbarela