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Artist of The Month: Matt Torrens |
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by M. Y. Mim |
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Matt Torrens builds them big. His monumental pieces are at least life-size and primarily built from driftwood. |
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"I have been sculpting my whole life, from carving driftwood on the beach as a kid, to studying it throughout school," said Matt.
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The laborious process of creating these immense pieces begins with finding the right piece of driftwood.
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"I usually start with a certain piece that draws in my imagination, giving me the inspiration to build a unique piece of art. The process is a long one. I first start by collecting all kinds of |
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driftwood. Once I get it back to the studio I sort through it, looking for unique shapes that help make up my mind of what to build. Then I start assembling multiple pieces forming the image in my mind. I pre-drill all the holes then screw the wood together. When the piece is completed, I cover the screw heads with wood filler and paint them to try and match each individual piece of wood. Finally I cover the piece with a clear coat to protect it from the elements." |
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The spaciousness within the driftwood lends an airiness that contrasts pleasantly with the great bulk of the massive pieces. Matt's work stuns audiences and forces viewers to contemplate the contradiction of lightness and heft.
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Artist Matt Toorrens next to his driftwood sculptures "California."
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Matt Torrens collecting driftwood for his sculptures. |
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The piece entitled "Whiskeytown," for example presents an anatomically correct full-sized horse with a slight, natural rear bend as the horse faces to its right. Whiskeytown is as correct as anything by George Stubbs. Movement in the horse is suggested not only by the posture, but also the careful placing of the driftwood pieces. Parts of Whikeytown appear to be transparent, adding further to the illusion of immediate possible flight. The casual viewer expects Whiskeytown to come trotting over for a treat. |
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Although driftwood remains Matt's primary medium, he first presented as an equine artist in 2003 - 2004 when he built, completely out of silverware, his first life-sized horse. This stunning silver sculpture includes a 10-foot wing span and is named "Pegasus."
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Asked what inspires him, Matt said "I love that the materials I use that go unnoticed by the everyday eye. They are overlooked and discarded, with no other thought given to them. It is through these unique pieces that I am able to materialize one moment of my imagination." Certainly, creating
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Pegasus from silver trays and forks demonstrates his claim.
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"Buckhorn," driftwood sculptures by Matt Torrens. |
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Matt grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, "Here we have the Calgary Stampede (The largest outdoor show on earth). I attended the show yearly and I guess subconsciously was affected by the horses. Now living in Northern California, there are horses in the front pasture for me to draw inspiration from." |
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Matt Torrens' "Pegasus" on display |
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Matt recently received a first-place award for Best Overall Presentation at the grand National Art and Horse |
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Show, held in April of this year at the San Francisco Cow Palace. This large, prestigious show included some 300 pieces of invitation-only equine and Western art. To win first among all the many high-quality pieces is a true honor.
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Two pieces, one driftwood sculpture and a silver Pegasus
by Matt Torrens. |
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Another view of Matt Torrens' driftwood sculpture "Spirit." |
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Artist Matt Torrens loading a sculpture at the Grand National Art Show and Sale, April 2008. |
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Artist Matt Torrens working on his sculpture "Woodstock."
Matt Torrens' driftwood sculpture "Woodstock," side view.
Matt Torrens' driftwood sculpture "Woodstock," face view. |
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For the future. Matt "pans to showcase my art through various Western art shows this year and see where that takes me."
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We predict it will take him far. |
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To view more of Matt Torrens' art, or purchase a piece, visit his website, http://www.matttorrens.com, or email him directly at info@matt Torrens or call 530-520-9559. |
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Read comments or post your own comments to this article at the bottom of this page. |
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About the Author: M. Y. Mim is a free-lance journalist based in Santa Barbara, Ca. She may be reached at mymim3@cox.net, or through her agent R. Almqvist, 805-705-5349, http://web.mac.com/macmym. The author wishes to thank Mr. Almqvist for his assistance in making this article possible. |
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Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved. The above article is the property of the Author and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any way without permission. |
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Reader comments for this article |
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Name: Sam Time: 2008-06-06 16:06:04
Comment: WOW!!!! Great work! I love how he brings the wood to life! I would love to see this work in person.... Does he have any shows coming up? I am a fan.
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