Philip Martin Gallery is pleased to present, "Moonshadow," an exhibition of new wall-mounted woven works by Los Angeles-based artist, Christy Matson. Matson's pieces explore objective and non-objective motifs - often at the same time - with an eye towards not only landscape, but also abstraction.
Christy Matson's work considers images, how we read them, and how they are made. Many of Matson's new works - such as "Moonshadow" and "Middle Distance" - both of which are included in her new online solo project at Philip Martin Gallery - present landscape as means by which to navigate motif. Maker and viewer alike find themselves parsing color, shape and material texture, building image in their minds - the play of light across the water perhaps, the curve of a hill, the bend in a river.
From this grounding in landscape, Matson's works quickly take us into a visual conversation on abstraction. The warp and weft grid-work of her woven pieces is fascinating, subtle in its shifting tones and hue. It points to the process by which Matson's works were made; at the same time, it reminds us of how our minds build up discrete moments in an artwork - like a stitch for example - into greater things. Matson's works have an embracing, gentle feel that allows for a play of emotions on the part of the viewer; they then ask us to engage further via a pictorial exploration of space. One of the works in the exhibition, "Braided River," for example, presents as its title indicates moving water braided both in terms of itself as an image and in terms of the delicate stitched passages of which the image is composed.
Monica Obniski, curator of Matson's solo show at the Milwaukee Art Museum notes that Matson's works, "resemble contemporary paintings, yet they are deeply rooted in weaving traditions," going on to comment that, "though she works with textiles, Matson thinks of herself as a painter. Her woven pictures participate in minimalism, abstraction, and decoration and, hung on a wall, are not utilitarian. She employs historical weaving structures and techniques to explore memory; the gendered history of textile production, long considered a feminized form of labor; and issues around sustainability. Matson’s work honors the traditional medium and reflects the strong, recent embrace of fiber by contemporary artists." On her part, Matson writes, "I think about textiles in relationship to body, in that there is a certain kind of physicality we have in inhabiting our own bodies. On my loom, I can make what appear to be organic and flowing lines, raise certain areas, put in a line of yarn, or material. I think about it as if I had a pen or paintbrush.” A runner, beach-goer and avid hiker, Matson shows the California she lived in and around most of her life: the land against the ocean, the smell of verbena and penstemon, the 'green flash’ of the sun as it slips beneath a wine-dark sea.
Christy MATSON (b. 1979, Seattle, WA) received her BFA from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) and her MFA from California College of the Arts (San Francisco, CA). Christy Matson's work is the subject of "Index Color," a new book published by Philip Martin Gallery. Recent exhibitions include Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee, WI); Cranbook Museum of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Long Beach Museum of Art (Long Beach, CA); "Beyond: Tapestry Expanded," Peeler Art Center, DePauw University (Greencastle, IN); "Arcadia and Elsewhere," James Cohan Gallery (New York, NY); "Seeing Chicago," curated by Duro Olowu, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, IL); "40 Under 40: Craft Futures," Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, DC); John Michael Kohler Art Center (Sheboygan, WI); Contemporary Arts Museum (Houston, TX); Knoxville Museum of Art (Knoxville, TN); Municipio di Maniago, (Pordenone Italy); Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA); Ciurlionis National Museum of Art (Kaunas, Lithuania); Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL); Bakersfield Museum of Art (Bakersfield, CA); Craft and Folk Art Museum, (Los Angeles, CA); and Museum of Craft and Folk Art (San Francisco, CA). Articles and reviews on Christy Matson’s work have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sculpture, Fiber Arts, Textile, Artillery, Surface Design Journal and Time Out. Christy Matson lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Christy Matson's exhibition, "Moonshadow" is online May 14 - 28, 2026. All works may be viewed at the gallery on request.
Philip Martin Gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday 11-5 and Tuesdays by appointment. The gallery is located at 3342 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles CA 90065. For additional images and information please call 323-507-2037 or email info@philipmartingallery.com.
Christy Matson's work considers images, how we read them, and how they are made. Many of Matson's new works - such as "Moonshadow" and "Middle Distance" - both of which are included in her new online solo project at Philip Martin Gallery - present landscape as means by which to navigate motif. Maker and viewer alike find themselves parsing color, shape and material texture, building image in their minds - the play of light across the water perhaps, the curve of a hill, the bend in a river.
From this grounding in landscape, Matson's works quickly take us into a visual conversation on abstraction. The warp and weft grid-work of her woven pieces is fascinating, subtle in its shifting tones and hue. It points to the process by which Matson's works were made; at the same time, it reminds us of how our minds build up discrete moments in an artwork - like a stitch for example - into greater things. Matson's works have an embracing, gentle feel that allows for a play of emotions on the part of the viewer; they then ask us to engage further via a pictorial exploration of space. One of the works in the exhibition, "Braided River," for example, presents as its title indicates moving water braided both in terms of itself as an image and in terms of the delicate stitched passages of which the image is composed.
Monica Obniski, curator of Matson's solo show at the Milwaukee Art Museum notes that Matson's works, "resemble contemporary paintings, yet they are deeply rooted in weaving traditions," going on to comment that, "though she works with textiles, Matson thinks of herself as a painter. Her woven pictures participate in minimalism, abstraction, and decoration and, hung on a wall, are not utilitarian. She employs historical weaving structures and techniques to explore memory; the gendered history of textile production, long considered a feminized form of labor; and issues around sustainability. Matson’s work honors the traditional medium and reflects the strong, recent embrace of fiber by contemporary artists." On her part, Matson writes, "I think about textiles in relationship to body, in that there is a certain kind of physicality we have in inhabiting our own bodies. On my loom, I can make what appear to be organic and flowing lines, raise certain areas, put in a line of yarn, or material. I think about it as if I had a pen or paintbrush.” A runner, beach-goer and avid hiker, Matson shows the California she lived in and around most of her life: the land against the ocean, the smell of verbena and penstemon, the 'green flash’ of the sun as it slips beneath a wine-dark sea.
Christy MATSON (b. 1979, Seattle, WA) received her BFA from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) and her MFA from California College of the Arts (San Francisco, CA). Christy Matson's work is the subject of "Index Color," a new book published by Philip Martin Gallery. Recent exhibitions include Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee, WI); Cranbook Museum of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Long Beach Museum of Art (Long Beach, CA); "Beyond: Tapestry Expanded," Peeler Art Center, DePauw University (Greencastle, IN); "Arcadia and Elsewhere," James Cohan Gallery (New York, NY); "Seeing Chicago," curated by Duro Olowu, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, IL); "40 Under 40: Craft Futures," Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, DC); John Michael Kohler Art Center (Sheboygan, WI); Contemporary Arts Museum (Houston, TX); Knoxville Museum of Art (Knoxville, TN); Municipio di Maniago, (Pordenone Italy); Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA); Ciurlionis National Museum of Art (Kaunas, Lithuania); Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL); Bakersfield Museum of Art (Bakersfield, CA); Craft and Folk Art Museum, (Los Angeles, CA); and Museum of Craft and Folk Art (San Francisco, CA). Articles and reviews on Christy Matson’s work have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sculpture, Fiber Arts, Textile, Artillery, Surface Design Journal and Time Out. Christy Matson lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Christy Matson's exhibition, "Moonshadow" is online May 14 - 28, 2026. All works may be viewed at the gallery on request.
Philip Martin Gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday 11-5 and Tuesdays by appointment. The gallery is located at 3342 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles CA 90065. For additional images and information please call 323-507-2037 or email info@philipmartingallery.com.
