Matt Sesow is a full-time painter... living and painting in Washington, DC. Painting and on the web since 1994.

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	Selected Solo Exhibitions and Achievements 2021: Solo Exhibition, "Life and Limb" at Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, VA (alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat) 2017: Solo Exhibition, Silo118 Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA 2017: Documentary "Join Hands: The Art and Life of Matt Sesow" released. 2016-2017: Solo Exhibition, "Matt Sesow: Shock and Awe," American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD 2016: Solo Exhibition, Access Gallery, Denver, CO 2015: Painting "Dive Bomb" released internationally on United Nations postal stamp 2014: Solo Exhibition, AMP Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2013: Solo Exhibition, Waverley Street Gallery, Bethesda, MD 2012: Solo Exhibition, "Trickle Down," Access Gallery, Denver, CO 2012: Solo Exhibition, "From the Gut", Jeanine Taylor Gallery, Sanford, FL 2012: Solo Exhibition, "Birdhouses" BVP Gallery, Washington, DC 2011: Solo Exhibition, Foe Gallery, Northampton, MA 2010: Solo Exhibition, "Pet Project," VSA Access Gallery, Denver, CO 2010: Solo Exhibition, Black Rock Gallery, Bridgeport, CT 2009: Solo Exhibition, "Bukowski," Los Angeles, CA 2009: Solo Exhibition, Mayer Fine Art, Norfolk, VA 2007: Solo Exhibition, "Salvaged," D Gallery, San Diego, CA 2007: Solo Exhibition, Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA 2007: Solo Exhibition, "Appearances," Rougette Gallery, Rockland, ME 2007: Solo Exhibition, "Animal Farm," VSA Colorado, Denver, CO 2006: Solo Exhibition, "Don Giovanni," Rebus Works, Raleigh, NC 2002-2005: "Hellhound" and "Bunny Collector" in multiple museum exhibits as part of "Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught Artists" in AK, NJ, OH, NY, NV, MT, VT, CA, CO, TX 2005: Solo Exhibition, "Carrots and Sticks," Rebus Works, Raleigh, NC 2005: "Collateral Damage," Phoenix, AZ: 10 plays written/performed inspired by a Sesow painting addressing the Iraq War 2005: Solo Exhibition, "Looking Back, Sprint Forward", Gallery Co., Minneapolis, MN 2005: Solo Exhibition, Hunter Hogan Gallery, Virginia Beach, VA 2005: Solo Exhibition, "Eye of the Storm," Studio One Eight, Washington, DC 2005: Solo Exhibition, Guillotine Gallery Art, Atlanta, GA 2005: Solo Exhibition, Ramscale Gallery, West Village, New York City, NY 2004: Solo Exhibition, Nature Visionary Art Gallery, Charlottesville, VA 2004: Solo Exhibition, Big Cat Gallery, New York City, NY 2003: "Best Artist" at annual Adams Morgan Festival, Washington, DC 2002: Solo Exhibition, "Friend or Foe," Stone's Breath Gallery, Oceanside, DE 2001: Solo Exhibition, Aroma Gallery Art, Washington, DC 2001: Solo Show, "Life's Little Traumas," Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC 1998: Solo Exhibition, "American Self Taught Visionary," The San Jose Art League, San Jose, CA Overseas Exhibitions Russia 2018-2019:"Radical Fluidity: Grotesque in Art" at the MISP Museum in St. Petersburg Australia 2014: Solo Exhibition, "All American Boy," Gold Coast Canada 2016: Solo Exhibition, Gallery 1515, Vancouver Costa Rica 2003: Residency as visiting artist (Ciudad Colon) France 2014: Solo Exhibition, Gallery 555, Cruseilles France 2011: Solo Exhibition, Galleria Saint-Pierre, Limoges France 2010: Solo Exhibition, "Sesow in Albi," Galleria Artevistas, Albi Slovenia 2009: Represented the U.S. at the 42nd annual meeting of Naive Artists in Trebjne Spain 2013: Solo Exhibition, "Icons," Galleria Artevistas, Barcelona Spain 2011: Solo Exhibition, Flash Gallery, Barcelona Spain 2009: Solo Exhibition, "Sesow in Barcelona," Galleria Artevistas, Barcelona Solomon Islands 1998-1999: Painted while Peace Corps volunteer China 1998: Painted in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore ARCHIVED: 2016-2018: * 3-week residency with Squire Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA (October - November) * Solo exhibition with Silo118 Gallery Santa Barbara, CA (November-January 2018) * Over 20 paintings selected and displayed as part of the permanent collection of American Visionary Art Museum; Baltimore * November 2017 solo exhibition 'Silo118' gallery in Santa Barbara, CA * October/November 2017 residency with Squire Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA * Matt Sesow released on UN stamp, press release at http://stamp.sesow.com * Documentary, "Join Hands" about the life and paintings of Matt Sesow: http://movie.sesow.com * May 2016-2017, One year Solo Exhibition, "Matt Sesow: Shock and Awe" at the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore (thru Spring 2017) * Solo in Vancouver Canada * May 2016, Solo Exhibition, "Matt Sesow: Shock and Awe" at the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore (thru Spring 2017) * August 2016: Solo Exhibition at Access Gallery in Denver, Colorado * 2015: * Matt Sesow released on UN stamp, press release at http://stamp.sesow.com * Documentary, "Join Hands" about the life and paintings of Matt Sesow: http://movie.sesow.com * April 2015: Washington, DC * July 2015: Barcelona Spain * 2014: * March: Northampton, MA * May: Cruseilles France * July: Provincetown, MA * August: Denver, CO * November: Gold Coast Australia * JUNE 2012: Washington, DC, "Messages from Outsiderdom" at Joan Hisaoka Gallery * JUNE 2012 NEWSLETTER: The latest from Matt Sesow on shows/interviews for June 2012, CLICK HERE * MAY 2012: DENVER; VSA Colorado "Access Gallery" SOLO "Trickle Down" * JULY 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; the Fridge Gallery with Dana Ellyn, "stocking the fridge" * JULY 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; "31 Days in July", started 2003 * SEPT 2012: Laurel, MD: Montpelier Art Center, "See Something, Say Something" * SEPTEMBER 2012 NEWSLETTER: The latest from Matt Sesow on shows/interviews for September 2012, CLICK HERE * OCTOBER 2012: MASSACHUSETTS; FOE Gallery (Northampton, Mass.), "Independent Party" * JANUARY 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; Two person show with Dana Ellyn at 'the Dunes' gallery in DC; "Dystopia" * JANUARY 2012: FLORIDA; Jeanine Taylor Art Gallery (Matt Sesow: From the Gut) * FEBRUARY 2012: MASSACHUSETTS; "garmaniacal" group show at FOE gallery Northampton, MA * FEBRUARY 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; Solo at BVP Dupont Circle "Birdhouses" * MARCH 2012: WASHINGTON, DC;, group show "tight fit" with other DC artists/contemporaries @ The Dunes Gallery * APRIL 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; Adah Rose Gallery (two person show with Dana Ellyn, "birds and bees") * APRIL 2012: WASHINGTON, DC; "Yuri's Night" group show and exhibition * SEPTEMBER 11 2011: Adams Morgan Festival; Washington, DC * SEPTEMBER: "Political Potpurri" at MOCA DC (Georgetown) * OCTOBER: Two person show Barcelona, Spain, Flash Gallery * DECEMBER: Two person show with Dana Ellyn at 'the Dunes' gallery in DC; "Dystopia" * MAY - JUNE: Sesow SOLO in Boston, MA ,JP Art Market Gallery * JUNE: Group Show in New York City , M55 Gallery * JUNE: Group show in Washington, DC at Slovenian Embassy * OCTOBER 2011: Two person show Barcelona, Spain, Flash Gallery * Sesow SOLO in Northampton, MA (March 11, 2011): FOE Gallery * Sesow SOLO in Limoges, France (March/April 2011), Galerie Saint-Pierre * Sesow exhibition Amman, Jordan at Foresight Gallery, "A Shout Out From My City" (Dec 21-January 11, 2011) * Sesow SOLO in Barcelona, Spain "Balance of Power" (DECEMBER 16, 2010): Galeria Artevistas SOLO: DENVER, CO "Pet Project" at VSA Colorado Opens June 18, 2010 new paintings by Matt Sesow 909 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 preview on the 17th 6-8pm more info.... click for the Access Gallery in Denver Symposium: Takoma Park, MD "Unique Perspectives: The Healing Power of Making Art in the Context of Therapy and Community" free to attend Friday, June 4 - 1 to 5 p.m Location-Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park MD Symposium featuring guest speaker, Matt Sesow, self-taught artist and author of "Matt Sesow: One Man's Journey through Art and Healing," followed by a panel discussion on the personal and societal context of art making as a healing process. click for more info SOLO: BRIDGEPORT, CT "Super men and Scoundrels" at the Gallery at Black Rock Opens April 23, 2010 new paintings by Matt Sesow click for the Gallery at Black Rock SOLO: ALBI, FRANCE Gallery ArteVistas Opens March 26, 2010 "Sesow in Albi" new paintings by Matt Sesow click for gallery ArteVistas Till Death do Us Part Long View Gallery Washington ,DC wedding and exhibition February 5th through March 1st, 2010 CLICK HERE for pictures from the wedding, and more... CLICK HERE Matt Sesow's wedding paintings.... MODUs UNION 2010 at the Mayflower hotel Washington ,DC One night only January 14th.... 7-10pm (2009 below): SOLO: NORFOLK, VA: at the Mayer Fine Art Gallery Opening reception October 3rd, Saturday.... 7-9pm 31 DAYS IN JULY, 2009: 6th year of the annual project by Matt Sesow: Matt Sesow will once again begin creating 31 unique large paintings in response to the daily news/Washington Post as part of his annual project "31 Days in July". Watch sesow.com throughout July for updates. CLICK HERE to visit past/current "31 Days in July 42nd CONFERENCE OF NAIVE / SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS: in Trebnje, SloveniaJune 13- 20, 2009: Matt Sesow was the first American representative for the annual conference of 'naive' or self-taught artists in Trebnje, Slovenia, at the Galerija likovnih samorastnikov Trebnje. The 1 week conference highlighted 7 internationally known self-taught artists from around the world. a page highlighting the conference will be available on sesow.com soon. CLICK HERE to visit the website in Trebnje SOLO IN BARCELONA: "Sesow in Barcelona, 2009"June thru July 2009 at ArteVistas in Barcelona: Matt Sesow was invited by the Gallery ArteVistas to come to Barcelona and paint for a week and half before his first European solo exhibition, "Sesow in Barcelona, 2009". The exhibit continues through July 2009 and features ove 60 recent paintings by Matt Sesow. CLICK HERE to visit the website in Barcelona ARTICLE: from "East Coast Snowboarding" magazine A colorful 2 page spread in the April/May 2009 edition CLICK HERE to see INTERVIEW: from "the fifteen before fifteen" magazine by Chris Davis Recent interview (February 2009) with Matt Sesow as told by Chris Davis for "the fifteen before fifteen" magazine. photos by Chris Flynn. CLICK HERE to read the interview REVIEW/CRITIQUE: from "Skating at the edge of infinity" blog by Cindy From recent studio visit (January 2009) CLICK HERE to read the review FEBRUARY 2009: NY: Ann Street Gallery Newburgh, NY FEB 21 opening.. Outsider Art show, sesow will be there. more info coming CLICK HERE for Ann Street gallery website MARCH 15 2009: harrisburg PA: Amish Neo and the USS Subterrannean show sesow will be there. more info coming MARCH 28th 2009: LOS ANGLES, CA 1st Annual Bukowski show sesow will be there. paintings and poetry group show... more info coming MAY 2ND 2009: NY GAGA Outsider art sesow will be there. group show... more info coming MAY 7th 2009: PORTLAND, OR group show sesow will be there. group show with jesse reno, ellyn, lana... more info coming GROUP SHOW ... DECEMBER 4TH 2008 thru JANUARY 4: DC: Longview Gallery (6PM - 9PM) Longview Gallery (1302 9th street, NW) is hosting a cocktail party with artists and art fans thursday december 4th come see the works of Matt Sesow, Dana Ellyn, Scott Brooks, Anna U. Davis, and others... no RSVP needed, just show up... CLICK HERE for longview gallery website NEW VIDEO INTERVIEW, DECEMBER 2008: The Artists Reality Matt Sesow recently answered interview questions via video for "The Artists Reality Show" by Todd V and J Edwards CLICK HERE to watch the show GROUP SHOW ... thru JANUARY 2009: PENINSULA FINE ARTS CENTER "Uncommon Vision: Nancy Thomas presents six Visionary Artists" Newport News, VA: The Nancy Thomas gallery curated Matt Sesow into this show at PFAC. displaying the works of Matt Sesow of Washington, DC; Carleton Bakkum of Virginia; Michael Banks of Alabama; Glenn Brady of Australia; Theresa Disney of Missouri; and Tres Taylor of Alabama located at: 101 Museum Drive Newport News, VA 23606 CLICK HERE for PFAC website NEWSPAPER REVIEW/ARTICLE ... OCTOBER 2008: VA: "Sesow's searing art exhibited for all the world to see" from the "Daily Press" Discussion and review of Matt Sesow's paintings on display at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. as part of Baron and Ellin Gordon's collection, written by Mark St. John Erickson: "Two of Sesow's searing yet unexpectedly complex paintings can now be seen at the Gordon Galleries of Old Dominion University, which became home to much of the couple's nationally known collection in August 2007. For all their intensity, however, these insightful explorations of the human psyche represent just the opening shot in a new exhibit of more than 50 works called "Uncommon Power: The Eye of the Self-Taught Artist." OCTOBER 2008: DC: "PASS GALLERY" Fall Group show Opening Reception October 3rd 7-10PM show goes until October 28.... 17th street between S and Swann NW CLICK HERE to vist PASS gallery website SEPTEMBER 2008: SAN FRANCISCO: "All You Can Eat" at the foolsFURY theater in San Francisco (Matt Sesow will be creating original paintings for the backdrop of the play) from the guardian in san fran: "The paint-dribbled set proffers three large semi-abstract canvases by artist Matt Sesow -- crazed portraiture for an age inclined less to the revolutionary romanticism of a Delacroix than the bastard offspring of Francis Bacon and Ralph Steadman." Written and Directed by steve morgan haskell Produced by Angela Santillo and Linda Baumgardner Traveling Jewish Theater, 470 Florida Street, SF Thurs-Sat, shows @ 8pm Previews: September 17 & 18 @ 8pm Bonus Performance: Sunday, October 5 @ 7pm An original collaboration by writer/director Steve Morgan Haskell and the foolsFURY ensemble, ALL YOU CAN EAT (the comeback tour) is an exciting blend of foolsFURY's style of "sheer kinetic energy and rigorous physical vocabulary" (SF Bay Guardian) and Haskell's trademark of "subversive and innovative" (LA Weekly) work that is "combative, arty and uncompromising." (LA Times). SEPTEMBER 2008: NEWSPAPER REVIEW: Washington, DC "Examiner" ... "Made in China: Travelogue, uncensored" Newspaper Article/Review by Robin Tierney. Published September 4, 2008. "Sesow flash-freezes the shock of events through his raw figures' facial expressions and body language. Bright colors and large, animated forms both hulking and diminutive render even primal scream scenes approachable; the Matt-osphere is tumultuous, but not forbidding." CLICK HERE to READ the ARTICLE SEPTEMBER 2008: DC: "Made in China" at the Longview Gallery in Washington, DC a two-person show with dana ellyn. both will be displaying paintings created while in China the previous month. THRU SEPT 20TH... BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION/2ND OPENING SEPTEMBER 10TH 6-8PM CLICK HERE to see PRESS REVIEWS/RELEASE CLICK HERE to visit Long View Gallery SEPTEMBER 2008: OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY: "Collective Wisdom: Selections from the Baron and Ellin Gordon Self-Taught Art Collection" at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries (At least four of my paintings that are part of the Gordon's art collection will be on display for this grand opening) September 9 thru October 17, 2008 Grand Opening of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries at Old Dominion University 4905 Monarch Way Pioneering folk art collectors Ellin and Baron Gordon of Williamsburg, Virginia have donated a significant portion of their collection of 20th and 21st century American folk art to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. They have previously donated pieces to the Museum of American Folk Art in New York and other prestigious institutions such as the Visionary Museum in Baltimore, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Colonial Williamsburg and loaned pieces to many groundbreaking exhibitions. Additionally, the Gordon's collection was the first exhibition of twentieth century folk art to be exhibited at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum occurring in 1997. The largest art donation ever received by the University, the collection is comprised of 375 pieces by over 70 artists, CLICK HERE to see PRESS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2008: DC: "BrUSHfire: Political Aewareness" group show at Gallery Plan B in Washington, DC September 10 thru October 5, 2008 Opening reception with the artists Saturday, September 13, 2008 6:00pm until 8:00pm CLICK HERE to visit the Gallery Plan B Website SEPTEMBER 2008: DC: "Arts on Foot" / "Adams Morgan Day Washington, DC Matt Sesow will be selling hundreds of his paintings on the 13th and 14th of september in DC JULY 2008: CHINA: Matt will be spending the month of July at various locations in China. the website will be updated with paintings created from China. (Beijing, Shanghai, Yichang, Three Gorges, Wanxian, Fuling, Chongqing, Xian, Guilin, Hong Kong). JULY 3 - SEPTEMBER 8 2008: HAMPTONS, NEW YORK: "3rd Annual Outsider Art in the Hamptons" at Galerie Belage Matt Sesow has around 15 works in this exhibit, including one 12' x 7' canvas from Giovanni opera painting (raleigh, nc 2006) Insiders among Outsider artists will have their say about what Outsider Art is and isn't on July 3, when Gallery BelAge hosts a two-pronged exhibit, "The 3rd Annual Outsider Art in the Hamptons: Internal Guidance Systems Exhibition." Curators Candyce Brokaw, an outsider artist and founder of Survivors Art Foundation joins Anne Grgrich and Colin Rhodes of "Internal Guidance Systems," a traveling exhibition touring the United States and Canada through 2010; together they shed light on this hot but frequently misunderstood art movement. Drawing upon an international pool of artists from Quogue to Australia, the curators have painstakingly culled more than three hundred works of art in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, multi-media sculpture, collage, and poetry. All the works are by artists inspired by their own, private worlds, unfettered by the "isms" that drive mainstream contemporary art. CLICK HERE to visit Galerie Belage June 7 - July 13 2008: NEW YORK: "Outside In" group show at Gaga Arts Center Matt Sesow will have several works on display, for sale at this annual event in Garnerville. This is the second year that GAGA will be featuring outsider art. Over fifteen thousand square of gallery space will be made available. "It's just a natural fit for GAGA. People loved last year's Outside In show, so we are making it even bigger and better for 2008."says Executive Director James Tyler. The paintings and sculpture of fifty self-taught 'outsiders' and American folk artists will be on display at the GAGA Arts Center as a part of this year's GAGA Arts Festival. Exhibition will include new works by: Matt Sesow, Bob Justin, Mike Conner, Ed Kirkland, Ross Brodar, and many others. This year GAGA is being joined by HAI of New York City. CLICK HERE to read the press release/webpage MAY 17 - JULY 1 2008: HAMPTONS, NEW YORK: "Breaking the Walls of Bias: Art by Survivors" at Galerie Belage Features art by individuals who have found their way out of life's darkest moments including physical and mental disabilities, racism, war and trauma. It is a joyous exhibition that amasses works by artists, emerging and well known, from around the world. Curated by Candyce Brokaw, founder and Executive Director of Survivors Art Foundation, and Robert Deets, director of Galerie BelAge in Westhampton Beach, the show includes over 100 paintings, sculpture, multi-media and video works by artists of every age and social circumstance. CLICK HERE to read the press release CLICK HERE to visit Galerie Belage MAY 2008, ongoing: BEAT MUSEUM, SAN FRANCISCO: BUKOWSKI UNDIGESTED BOOK of poetry by Linda King, illustrated by Matt Sesow on sale and display at the Beat Museum. Original paintings from the book on sale as well as signed poems by King. CLICK HERE to order and see more about the book... MAY 9 -JUNE 15 2008: ARTOMATIC, DC: Sesow display on the 8th Floor. 1,000 artists one building ... OPENING MAY 9TH.... 1200 First Street, NE Matt has around 50 paintings on display, including a digital frame displaying around 5,000 works by Matt Sesow. CLICK HERE to visit the artomatic site Call or write/email in advance to setup a studio visit if interested (Washington, DC).
	"Sesow's canvases would hardly complement floral-print furniture. But the personality behind the art is anything but dark. A polite, affable man with bright blue eyes and closely cropped blond hair, Sesow chuckles often and appears to be enjoying life. " -- ( Molly Knight, DC Style Magazine, January/Feb. 2006) "Matt Sesow's "Father of the Bride" threatens to steal the show with its irrepressible expressionistic angst. This 2001 acrylic painting on cardboard is defined by the remarkable violence of its brush strokes, which recall the kinetic force of Jack the Ripper with their razor-sharp slashes and blade-like shredding effect. These kinetic linear forms combine to create a grotesque portrait of an imposing man in a blue blazer and orange tie, dried white mounds of paint forming his monstrous teeth." -- ( Allison Hersh, the Savannah Morning News, December 2005 ... Hurn Museum exhibit "Face Dances") "While some of his images might be considered brutal or brutish in the same way as, say, Francis Bacon, they are only real life with the beauty secrets stripped away, the cover girl make-up stuffed back into society's compacts. They are the skeletons, out of the closet, with the raw meat still attached. Sesow may very well be the most important artist working today. His paintings are explosions of color. Punk rock energy paired with the symbolism of alienation dressed in the finery of a rainbow. As he says, he is trying to create something that is funny, political and chaotic. In that quest he has been successful on a grand scale. " -- (Ron Taylor, Demon Beach Records, November 2005) "Matt's work still bites big holes in the canvas and the sanctified social order of the day. Only now there is a greater confidence, with a higher level of sophistication in color and composition. ... drives ideas like nails through current events. Whatever the theme, manages to steeer clear of illustration and drill (his) way to the inner core of fearless, almost reckless interpretation." -- (Jim Magner, Capitol Hill Rag Magazine, March 2005) "Matt Sesow ... is a master of angular lines and jarring color." -- (J. Bowers, Baltimore City Paper, oct. 2004) WON BEST EXPERIMENTAL THEATER (June 2005): "Collateral Damage," Cheap Theatrix: Raymond Shurtz collected a handful of antiwar plays and strung them together against a painting by Washington, D.C., artist Matt Sesow. Somewhat thoughtprovoking, occasionally brilliant, entirely fresh." -- (Chris Page, critic, East Valley Tribune Daily, June 2005) "Matt Sesow's nightmarish portraits possess a voracious brutality that hits the eyes like sand, but embed in the heart with unexpected wonder" -- (Timothy Cahill, Albany New York Times Union, 2004) "Sesow didn't have any formal art training, but his work is gaining recognition in the small but growing world of so-called visionary art. The genre -- sometimes called outsider art, art brut or contemporary folk art -- groups works by self-trained artists who deal with very personal issues, often their own disabilities... Through his art, Sesow worked through the emotional knots created by his childhood accident.... Sesow's paintings communicate the emotional power of his healing. One of his works in the AVAM exhibit, titled "Out of Water," depicts in loose, abstracted brush strokes and bright colors a scuba diver emerging from water. On his goggles is a line with three crosses that Sesow uses to symbolize the trauma of his childhood accident. For years after his hand was amputated Sesow wore prosthetics, but about a year after he started painting, he gained confidence and stopped wearing his artificial hand. Sesow feels freed now that he doesn't have to try to be and look like something he isn't. ..." -- (Cate Hescox, Reuters News, October 2004 read full interview by clicking here) "Sesow's explosively colored and powerfuly composed expressionist paintings in this exhibition are broad brushed self-portraits with a compellingly dramatic tension that draws in the viewer. Both 'Setting Sail' and 'Out of Water' capture on canvas and board doubling figures, expressions, and markings-- on the first-- and a powerful head complete with a characteristic Sesow trauma scar marker on the second..." -- (Tony Harvey... regarding Sesow paintings at 'Holy H2O' AVAM show, Intowner magazine, Washington DC, Oct. 2004) "Every stroke (of Sesow's) is like a cannonball hitting the canvas" --(Chris Warner/Alcove Gallery, Atlanta Magazine, 2004) "Matt Sesow, whose "Bunny Collector" could hold its own with Grosz, and whose "Hellbound III" posits a universe where Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch are the same." -- (Las Vegas Mercury, 2003) "The essential appeal of the outsider spirit in art is robustly exemplified by the compelling impact of a Matt Sesow painting. His finest works tend to gather themselves to lunge at you and take root in unguarded channels of emotion" --(New Art International, Book Art Press. 2003) (Regarding paintings done by Sesow for the Hollywood play 'F**king Wasps' about Alfred Kinsey, by Steve Haskell) "The set consisted essentially of a blue piano and several immense paintings by DC-based artist Matt Sesow, which were commissioned by the director for the production. These complex, savage, allegorical portraits not only represented but actually contained the entire psychological subtext of the play. Their vivid, unsettling presence gave the rigid agony of the performances a context and a dignity that despite their best intentions they might not have achieved otherwise. The art was there to say no, that despite the defenses, controls and masks, inside everyone there is a mass of turmoil and contradiction. The paintings were an integral part of the content of the production, not just its style. The said more about the Kinsey the man than Kinswy ever could. That is exactly what I was looking for at the LA Art show, what I look for all the time now. For art that takes the human condition seriously, and engages with it, even at great risk to itself." -- (Coagula Magazine, Hollywood, CA, 2003. Shana Nys Dambrot) "Brace yourself. Maybe even toss back a stiff drink before you go. Because to encounter Matt Sesow's paintings is to enter a maelstrom. Undiluted primary colors fly off the wall, blinding, dazzling. Frenetic lines thrash violently. And Sesow's disturbing, distorted images needle and jab.... Viewing the current wall of Sesow's work is like eavesdropping on the artist's ongoing argument with the world. With paint he shouts down and wrestles with his tangled personal and political issues. And we get to watch wide-eyed." --(Laura Parsons, from 'the hook', Charlottesville, VA... regarding Sesow's 2004 show) "Matt is a true Brutarian, a self-taught painter who, despite having his work extensively shown and written about, has little interest in becoming part of the art network. Sesow appears unconcerned with communicating in the accepted tropes of the professional; he defers to no recognized code, nor to the rules of any recognized idiom. "Crude!" "Unfinished!" "Aberrant!" the boulevardier may jeer, but it may well be that Matt's approach results in a creative range beyond the normal compass of our responses . . .Perhaps not, nevertheless, Mr. Sesow has created a fascinating body of work " --Interivew with Matt Sesow from "Brutarian" magazine, issue #28 "I suppose everybody has experienced some pain and fear in their lives. Just as paintings of pretty flowers and sunsets with horsies make us smile and feel content, I want to paint emotionally charged intense works that cause discomfort or inspire people to challenge themselves. I had some unique physical trauma as a child that got me started on this path... I'm a generally happy person, but I have taught myself to channel anger and intensity in art. The best musicians and painters have done it, those are my heroes." --(Interview with Matt Sesow, 2004) READ THE INTERVIEW, BY CLICKING HERE
	Comments, requests for paintings, and galleries can send email to sesow@sesow.com (page is updated on average once a week with new works and news) All paintings copyright Matt Sesow.