Contemporary Art Matters is pleased to present And they will bloom, an exhibition of stunning ceramic sculptures by Matt Wedel. Having just returned from Madrid, where he was honored as a finalist for the prestigious Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Wedel, an Ohio artist, debuts pieces from his acclaimed Flower tree series in this solo show. The exhibition will be on view at the gallery’s 243 N 5th Street, Columbus, OH location from July 17th through August 29th, with an opening reception on Thursday, July 17th, from 5-7 PM.

Matt Wedel is celebrated for his expressive and colorful large-scale ceramic sculptures. In his Flower tree Series primordial beauty is revealed in succulent shaped multi-colored blooms. They spring in random proliferation from shapes that recall landscape elements, some faceted like rocks or clumped like bodies of earth. There is a sense of connection with the primal in these sculptures, as if we are witnessing the formation of life. A viscous, richly hued, opaque glaze cascades over the forms. It flows down through the plant-like structures, evoking a sense of emergence, of growth, in the surfacing flowers.

Wedel’s sculptures feature ceramic bodies that channel the generative force of the earth, while their surfaces retain the haptic marks of the human hand that shaped them. Wedel writes “These sculptures are not illustrations of nature, but expressions of our entanglement with it: our bodies as a barometer in the environment, a sensory organ, our intuition as an offering to render or disregard.” The reciprocity between nature and humanity is a theme Wedel finds expressed in the process of making his work. He sees the practice of creation as a metaphor for the self as an ecosystem. Employing age-old hand-building techniques such as coiling, he creates contemporary work that reinvents traditional methods on a monumental scale that requires innovation and skill to produce. This inventive approach is rooted in his personal history. From a young age, Wedel was immersed in the world of clay through his father, a functional potter. This early exposure fostered a lifelong connection to the medium that continues to shape his practice today.