Matthew McConville

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Most recently I have been combining images of landscape, still life, and contain art historical references.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
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