Matthew McConville

Catalog

A surreal plant with large, pink, trumpet-shaped flowers and a mix of intertwined green and yellow stems, leaves, and roots sprouts from a peculiar bulbous base decorated with an abstract, dark-blue blossom and swirling wisps.

A botanical illustration featuring a cluster of red, orange, and green berries with green leaves on the left side. To the upper right, there is a small cross-section of a berry showing its interior. The background is a plain off-white color.

A delicate, surreal illustration features a plant with twisted, curling stems and otherworldly blooms. The background is a soft, gradient pastel pink. Earthy roots are visible beneath the plant, contrasting with the colorful, whimsical stem and flowers above.

A botanical illustration featuring a branch with green leaves and two light pink flowers, delicately rendered with detailed shading. There is a yellow bud at the bottom of the branch, set against a plain, light beige background.

A surreal bouquet of flowers with a mix of colorful tulips, other vibrant blooms, and twisted, curly stems set against a soft, light blue background. The arrangement features a whimsical, almost fantastical design with an array of textures and shapes.

A surreal artwork depicting a blossoming iris with a gradient of purple and green hues, intertwined with a bulbous root transforming into wispy, ghost-like tendrils at the bottom.

Matthew McConville

Born: 1965, Patchogue, NY

Biography and Information

Biography

Matthew McConville (b. 1965) paints exquisitely detailed arrangements of imagined plant life. Influenced by traditional practices such as 18th-century Dutch painting, botanical illustration, and Japanese flower arranging as well as current topics relating to gene modification, sustainability, and extinction, these luminescent paintings are the artist’s interpretation of future worlds.

McConville’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and is in the collections of the Charlotte Bloomberg Children’s Center and the Sheikh Zayed Tower, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; the Federal Reserve, Minneapolis; Iowa State Bank, Iowa City; Medtronic, Minneapolis; United States Park Service, Isle Royale National Park, Houghton, MI; University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City; and Weisman Museum of Art, Minneapolis. He teaches drawing and painting at Goucher College in Baltimore.

Most recently I have been combining images of landscape, still life, and contain art historical references. This is, in part, a reflection of my love of spending time in museums and galleries looking at paintings. Whether looking at the work of a single person, or the artistic output of a whole culture, it is possible to learn something about their values by looking at their art. From my point of view, every painting we make is in dialogue with every painting that came before. -Matthew McConville

Education
1995
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, MA, MFA

1988
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, BFA

Exhibitions
2020
Flowers for the Anthropocene, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

2017
Confected, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

2014
Matthew McConville, Hamilton Street Club, Baltimore, MD

2013
Matthew McConville, Montpelier Art Center, Laurel, MD
[In]finite Garden, Delicious Spectacle, Washington, D.C., curated by Dan Perkins
This is ok, Kaus Australis Rotterdam, Netherlands
Brave New Wonderland, Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, MO

2012
Paint by Numbers, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Labors & Recreations, Chesapeake Gallery at Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD
Drawing School, The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, MD

2011
Maryland Regional Biennial, University of Maryland College, Adelphi, MD

2010
Interrupted Terrains, Gallery One Visual Arts Center, Ellensburg, WA
The Painting Show, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Spectra: An Exhibition of Work by Goucher Art Faculty, Silber Gallery at Goucher College, Baltimore, MD

2009
Minument: Reconstruction, Minstallation Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM (solo project room)
A Rair Family, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM

2008
Front Room: Notes on Monumentality, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD Passage, The Library, Baltimore, MD
Aquaart Miami, Miami, FL

2007
Transparent Dialogs, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD
Re- Enactments, Current Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2005
Topia Utopia Dystopia, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD

2004
Chicago/ Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
Our Perfect World, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
Sugar and Snails, Park School Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2003
Rosenberg Gallery Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
Beth Urdang Gallery, Boston, MA

2002
Faculty Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MA

2001
Faculty Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MA

2000
Faculty Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MA
Perrelli Gallery, Baltimore, MA
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

1999
Faculty Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MA

1998
Paintings and Prints, Cindy Bordeau Gallery, Chicago, IL

1996
Iowa Artists 1996, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
Drawings Midwest, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN
LaFontsee Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI

1995
Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago, IL
Mills Art Gallery, Pella, IA

1994
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL

Collections
21C Museum Hotels
Charlotte Bloomberg Children’s Center and the Sheikh Zayed Tower, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
The Federal Reserve, Minneapolis, MN
Iowa State Bank, Iowa City, IA
Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN
New Mexico State Art Collection, Santa Fe NM
T.L. Solien, Madison, WI
United States Park Service, Isle Royale National Park, Houghton, MI
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA
Weisman Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN

Awards
2012
Isle Royale National Park, MI, Artist in Residence
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, Sondheim Prize Semifinalist Exhibition
Goucher College Summer Research Grant

2006
Maryland State Arts Council, Individual Artist Award

2004
Maryland State Arts Council, Individual Artist Award
Creative Capital, Professional Development Program

2002
Maryland State Arts Council, Individual Artist Award

1999
Akasha, Minneapolis, MN, Artist In Residence

1998
Akasha, Minneapolis, MN, Artist In Residence

1997
Akasha, Minneapolis, MN, Artist In Residence

1996
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA; “Works on paper” award

1995
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; Mildred Pelzer Fellowship

Press
2017
Confected, Wall Street International Magazine, March 15

2014
Halb Wachend, Halb im Schlaf, Theater Basel, March 26 (image)

2013
PULSE of Contemporary American Artists, Americana Week, May 10

2012
Jason Franz, International Painting Annual, Manifest Press, Volume 2
Preview image for Paint By Numbers, Art Openings Page 3, THE Magazine, July

2009
Susan Emerling, The Shifting Nature of Earth Artists, Los Angeles Times, August 16
Ellen Berkovitch, Art in New Mexico, Adobe Airstream Online Magazine, July 5
Wesley Pulkka, Fresh Visions Abound in LAND/ART exhibits, Albuquerque Journal, July 5

2008
Kate Noonan, Group Dynamics, Baltimore City Paper, August 6
Janelle Porter, New American Paintings Book 75,Open Studios Press

2003
Gadi Decter, The New Handsome, Baltimore City Paper, Vol. 27 No. 16 Page 33 April 16

1996
Janet Farber, Iowa Artists, Des Moines Art Center
Jack Livingston, Radar, Issue 5 Page 19
Eliot Nusbaum, Des Moines Register, March

1995
Steven T. Zevitas, New American Paintings IV, Open Studios Press

1994
Eliot Nusbaum, Des Moines Register, September

Press Release
2024 Richard Levy Gallery at Atlanta Art Fair

2021 Springtime at Pie Projects

2020 Flowers for the Anthropocene at Richard Levy Gallery

2017 Confected at Richard Levy Gallery

2010 The Painting Show at Richard Levy Gallery

2009 Earthworks at Richard Levy Gallery