Matt Ziemke
An Ideal Plan, Ceramic & Mixed Media, 2011
A landscape is reflective of the values and needs of those who live and build within it. This in mind, my work reflects the forms, structures, and processes that surround the location, extraction and consumption of resources. I am drawn to the ways in which the landscape can ultimately be defined by our activity. The construction of the structures that accompany this extraction and transportation is primarily guided by a concern for efficiency and economy, making my attraction to their formal qualities a seemingly conflicted one.
This conflicted attraction drives my pursuit of attractive surfaces and playful yet precarious compositions. Both imagination and play fill the inherent holes in my understanding of the complex processes and structures that make up our built and natural landscapes. Looking to natural physical processes like dripping, bubbling, splashing, or accumulation which shape the world around us reveals a fascinating contrast to our modes of construction. I am curious about the points of glaring contrast between natural and artificial orders; their differences come into question where other points converge. My work is a conglomeration of parts that result from this line of thinking. Sometimes vague, sometimes specific, I aim to question the implications of processes and structures that make up our built and natural environments as they define the places we inhabit.
Defining Borders, Ceramic & Mixed Media, 2011
Education
2011
MFA, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Post Baccalaureate, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
2007
BFA, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Exhibition History
2012
Vox VIII (Juried – Ruba Katrib & Marlo Pascula), Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
Pleased To Meet You (Group Exhibition), NAPOLEON, Philadelphia, PA
Clay National VIII 2012 (Juried – Tyler Lotz & Erin Furimsky), Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Across The Divide (Juried – Steven Schaeffer), Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
Small Favors VII Invitational Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2011
LAND+SCAPE (invitational), Schacht Gallery, Saratoga Clay Art Center, Schuylerville, NY
Breaking Boundaries: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics (Invitational), Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh NY
Hello/Goodbye (Invitational), The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
8th Annual MBK Juried Graduate Student Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Small Favors VI Invitational Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
NCECA National Juried Student Exhibition, Tampa, FL
Resisting Structure Within Order – MFA Thesis (Solo Exhibition), Temple University Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Woot! (Invitational), The Crane Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Zodiac Down, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Zodiac Down (Traveling Show), Stella Elkins Gallery, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
7th Annual MBK Juried Graduate Student Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
[Divergence]-Attenuated Renderings, Stella Elkins Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Post Bacc Show, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
2007
Tykes and Broken Leashes (BFA), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Toast, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Residencies & Lectures
2012
Artist Lecture, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA (scheduled)
Artist Lecture, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2011
Artist in Residence (Present)- The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Grants & Awards
2011
Tyler School of Art Dean’s Grant, Tyler School of Art, Temple University
Temple Graduate School Thesis Completion Grant, Tyler School of Art, Temple University
Tyler School of Art Dean’s Grant, Tyler School of Art, Temple University
2010
3rd Place Award, 7th Annual MBK Graduate Student Exhibition, The Clay Studio
2010/9
Academic Year Full Graduate Assistantship, Tyler School of Art, Temple University
2009
Summer Studio Technician Work Exchange, UMass Dartmouth
Publications & Affiliations
2012
NAPOLEON Gallery, Member
National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), Member
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, Member
2011
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, Member
TheArtBlog.org, Graduates Everywhere – a roundup of spring student shows, June 1
TheArtBlog.org, ‘It’s a great big Woot! from Tyler’s graduating MFA’s‘, March 9
Philadelphia Weekly, ‘Woot there it is, Tyler kids show us what they’re made of’, March 9
2010
Ceramics Monthly, Up Front, Volume 58, Number 8
TheArtBlog.org, ‘Fired Up About Clay; We Take a Tour’, April 2
Teaching Experience
2012
The Clay Studio, Instructor, Adult Community Education Program, Ceramic Sculpture, Philadelphia, PA
The Clay Studio, Instructor, Adult Community Education Program, Throwing Concentration, Philadelphia, PA
The Clay Studio, Instructor, Adult Community Education Program, Throwing Concentration, Philadelphia, PA
2011
The Clay Studio, Instructor, Adult Community Education Program, Throwing Concentration, Philadelphia, PA
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Teaching Assistant, Advanced Ceramics, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Teacher of Record, Introduction to Ceramics, Philadelphia, PA
2009
UMass Dartmouth, Teaching Assistant, Clay Formulation, Dartmouth, MA
Ceramic & Mixed Media 2012
The Scatter: Temporary Values, Permanent Lines, Ceramic & Mixed Media, 2011
