Conversations with Matthew Rose

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Rose. 

Hi Matthew, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was always interested in images and words. When I got to Brown University, they were interested in my interest in these areas and had created a major called SEMIOTICS. I studied linguistics, art, writing, film, painting but mostly read and drew for four years. 

After Brown, I worked in publishing, and writing for magazines and newspapers and slowly began to design magazines and increase my art production – all the while studying and writing about art. 

I moved to Paris, France, and continued writing, painting, and increasing my collage work. 

In 2009, I conceived of and launched a global exhibition – A Book About Death. We had 30 exhibitions around the world with artist-curators taking the lead and enlarging the scope of the project. 

In 2019 I was invited to go to Japan to show my work and the A Book About Death project. 

It goes on. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a few love affairs that didn’t work out and I lost a few years because of this. Mostly my stubborn clinging to fantasy. I blame my strong imagination for believing in various fictions about myself. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have long worked as a collagist, but also paint and draw and sometimes alter objects to make them more interesting. I am known for this work and have shown my work all over the United States, Europe, and Asia, most recently at the Karuizawa New Art Museum in Japan. 

I’m proud of my relentless obsession to make things that I want to see come to fruition. My ability to start with nothing and making something. And that people are interested in what I’m doing and want to own it, or at least look at it. 

My path is similar to others who have sought to escape various confining cultural contexts. Though I’ve ended up in a kind of cliched reality – artist in Paris – I’m always trying to surprise myself. Most people don’t like surprises. 

I launched a magazine this past June called Trouble. It’s an art and literary quarterly. It is mostly about trouble. 

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My mind is always racing, and I’m always trying to scoop out that energy, like radiating peanut butter and spread it across my day and night. I’m aware that’s the key to success. 

Contact Info:

• Email: mistahrose@yahoo.com
• Website: http://concretewheels.com/trouble/trouble.htm
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mistahcoughdrop/