Magical Moments

Matthew Sievers’ paintings of rural landscapes and cities are dynamic expressions of light, color and atmosphere.

- ROCHELLE BELSITO

One of the most recognizable qualities to Matthew Sievers’ artwork is how he handles paint. He adeptly and harmoniously blends detail and abstraction as well as mixes bright, vivid colors with quieter passages. This results in compositions unique to his experiences and interests as an artist. They are works that seamlessly exhibit alongside one another regardless of whether it’s a rural or city scene. May 28 through June 9, Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will mount the show Seeing through a Painted Veil with new work by Sievers.

The title of the show relates to how the artist paints as well as to memories and perception. He says, “I want any of my themes, when viewed, to be relatable to the viewer. It’s not crisp or sharp.” They are reminders of places people have been. Sievers continues, “I like to have areas of the painting hidden underneath a veil of paint. I may paint something very detailed then scrape paint right over it where just a hint of that is coming through. Those things really speak to me.”

Those techniques are something that Sievers has always explored in his artwork, but when he read John Seed’s book Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World he began thinking about a bigger picture. “The main thing I saw reading through some of those articles—also relating to it—is that the current way we take in imagery through Pinterest or Instagram is a very fleeting moment,” he says.