In my work, I use discovery and the creative process to explore complex geographies and the alienation and displacement brought on by cataclysmic disasters, violent conflicts and human hubris.
I grew up in Berlin, a city still scarred by war and overshadowed by history. This may explain why, as an artist, I try to stay acutely aware of everything going on—in worlds both big and small. As I work, I allow automatic gesture and mark-making to suggest the imagery; in this way, all that information gets filtered and rearranged, and remanifests itself in my art.
Over the past several years, I have worked on a number of series that reflect the idea that not just products, but people, societies and the planet as a whole have become increasingly disposible. Another series, Infected Rooms, considers how isolation and contagion transformed our everyday spaces and interactions, during the pandemic.
Matthias Düwel was born in Berlin, Germany. He received his Meisterschüler (MFA) from the Universität der Künste Berlin in 1983. The following year he was awarded a German Academic Exchange travel fellowship, made artist in residence at NYU Deutsches Haus, and provided a post-graduate fellowship to the N.Y. Studio School. In 1985 he received a Pollock-Krasner grant award.
Over the years he has had numerous solo exhibitions and write-ups in NYC, LA, Berlin, and Paris. Among the galleries that have represented his work are Galerie Brusberg in Berlin, Galerie Bellier in Paris, Moeller Fine Art in NYC, Mirus Gallery in San Francisco, and Davis Dominguez in Tucson.
Today, Düwel lives and works in Arizona. In addition to a full-time visual art practice, he makes electronic music and teaches at a community college serving a diverse community.