Reckless Abandon: Bob Nickas
Originally published in Tony Matelli Abandon, 2004 on the occasion of the exhibition Abandon at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
"In the Imperial gardens, nothing is left to chance, and nothing is out of place... Weeds, as Tony Matelli reminds us, are hardy, determined to make their way in an unwelcoming, threatening world... They are a celebration of unwantedness." - Bob Nickas
Tony Matelli interviewed by Howie Chen
Originally published in Glass of Water, 2011 on the occasion of the exhibition Glass of Water, Kunstraum Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
"Labor just staves off entropy and decay, and in some of my work that relationship is twisted. The actual labor is not the point, of course, but it’s sometimes necessary to achieve clarity."
- Tony Matelli
Precision of Practice: Tony Matelli interviewed by Marie Nipper
Originally published in A Human Echo, 2013 on the occasion of the exhibition A Human Echo, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
“I’ve always thought that for an artwork to be successful, it needs the viewer to become invested in it. Ideas need to have seductive power in order to be absorbed and considered. This is the ultimate lesson of religious art, and even Hollywood—the viewer needs to be seduced.”
- Tony Matelli
Tony Matelli - A Human Echo: Pernille Taagaard Dinesen
Originally published in A Human Echo, 2013 on the occasion of the exhibition A Human Echo, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
Matelli's work has developed from lifelike reproductions of the human body, to sarcastic and ironic interpretations of the figure, to a final phasing out of the subject. With technical perfection, he examines existential themes and considers the absurdities of life with a touch of sophisticated humor. Although he often takes European art history as a point of departure, Matelli's investigations into perception and self-perception offer a critical and distinctly contemporary account of man and his world.
- Pernille Taagaard Dinesen
Tony Matelli in conversation with XIBT Magazine editor in chief Alice Zucca
“I’ve always thought that for an artwork to be successful, it needs the viewer to become invested in it. Ideas need to have seductive power in order to be absorbed and considered. This is the ultimate lesson of religious art, and even Hollywood—the viewer needs to be seduced.”
- Tony Matelli
Art That Gets Away: Lisa Fischman
On the occasion of the exhibition Abandon at University at Buffalo Art Gallery, 1999
“Weeds are markers along the paths of culture- of cultivation and its failure- and their sculptural representation carries social and political charge, however ambiguous. Transformed by concept, process, multiplication and representation, Matelli's weeds are vessels of indeterminate meaning, open to a variety of simultaneous interpretations.” - Lisa Fischman