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Artist Matthew Picton Explores “Cultural Mapping” in his Exhibition at the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

EUGENE, Ore. -- (August 20, 2018) – The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus presents the exhibition “Matthew Picton: Cultural Mapping” on view in the Artist Project Space from September 12 to December 30, 2018. This exhibition features three-dimensional aerial “cartographies” that are based in a particular city or region of the world and feature layers of cultural references and historical text.

 

“To call Matthew Picton’s sculptural works ‘maps’ is both accurate and a misnomer,” says Jill Hartz, JSMA executive director. “While each work features a geographical location, they are densely packed with levels of cultural and historical references related to that real or imagined location. They can be appreciated both for their information and insights as well as for their unusual and aesthetically exciting formats.”

                                                            

Each work documents and invites us to explore particular times of societal and cultural change, specific to that area of the world. Featured in the exhibition are a selection of works that investigate colonialization and the plunder of the New World. Among these are “El Dorado,” inspired by the Spanish search for the city of gold in the Amazon basin, and “Apocalypse Now,” referencing Coppola’s film of the same title, Joseph Conrad’s book “Heart of Darkness,” and the geography of the lower Mekong Delta.

 

“Cultural Mapping” is accompanied by a catalog, with an essay by Emily Shinn, a second year graduate student in the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon. The exhibition and publication are made possible by the Hartz FUNd for Contemporary Art.
The exhibition will be celebrated with an opening reception on Friday, September 21, 7 to 9 p.m. Picton will give an artist’s talk on Saturday, September 22, at 2 p.m.

 

Born in London, Picton studied politics and history at the London School of Economics. His work is in the collections of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the De Young Museum (San Francisco), the Herbert Museum of Art (Coventry, U.K.), the Fidelity Bank collection (London), the Stadt Museum (Dresden, Germany), and the New York University Langone Medical Center Collection, as well as several private collections. He lives in Ashland, Oregon, with his artist-wife Clare Burbridge and their children, and he is represented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland.

 

About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public.  The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the Americas as well as changing special exhibition galleries.  The JSMA is one of seven museums—and the only academic art museum-- in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

 

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.

 

Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

 

Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu