Matthew Kirscht -- Vintage Holiday Artist

Connie Porcher, of Celebrate365, interviews folk artist Matthew Kirscht and shares the story about his art, inspirations and where his works can be seen.

Yes I sell to collectors online, at shows, galleries and on eBay.

My main focus is vintage postcard-inspired paintings. My work varies from postcard-sized paintings to large oils. I also create limited-edition vintage style postcards and occasional sculptures. I recently did a limited-edition enamel pin set as well.

My style is loosely based on “vintage holiday”, but I add or do whatever strikes my fancy from fine art to tiki mugs. I swing from psychotically happy to eternally worried looks in my designs.

I am almost completely self-trained. My holiday work began as sculpture, but after roughly 400 paper mâché pieces, I was burning out. I started to paint to break up the monotony, and really took to it. I have worked in oil, acrylic, gouache and watercolor and alternate between these mediums depending on the project.

I began doing holiday artwork in 1996.

My work has appeared on HGTV's Collectible Treasures, in Direct Art Magazine, Tripwire magazine, The Gambit Weekly, The Missoulian and the Juxtapoz magazine website. I have shown in galleries in New Orleans, Missoula MT, Brooklyn NY, Hudson NY, Alexandria VA. I’ve also appeared at The Costa Mesa Folk Art Invitational in Costa Mesa, CA, at Halloween and Vine in Petaluma, CA and The Halloween Opera in Jim Thorpe, PA. I self-published a book of my Halloween art entitled . I have a second volume coming out this October.

It simply is pigments in a gum-based solution, capable of rendering beautiful works of art. Gouache (gwaash) tends by its nature to dry to a rich vivid opaque color and is a favorite of illustrators. Unlike watercolor, gouache doesn't rely on the whiteness of the support you're painting on to show brilliance. Gouache lays right on the surface and isn't used as a stain like most watercolor pigment. Gouache is thinned with plain old water, the same as watercolor, acrylic, and casein.

MatthewKirscht.com
eBay ID: shiverbones
Email at: shiverbone@yahoo.com

Solo Exhibitions:
Dante's Kitchen, New Orleans, LA
"The Clown Machine & Other Deceits"
Dec-Jun. 2007/2008

The Big Top Gallery, New Orleans, LA
"The Clown Machine & Other Deceits"
October 2007

The UC Gallery, Missoula, MT
"The Clown Machine & Other Deceits"
September 2007

The Big Top Gallery, New Orleans, LA
“Born 1973, Lost 1978”
June 2005

Group Exhibitions:

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
"No Dead Artists"
September 2008

River Oaks Square Arts Center, Alexandria, VA
"Masters of Miniature Art Show
December 2007

Ceratana Gallery, Missoula, MT
"Making It"
Feb. 2007

Brooklyn Lyceum, Brooklyn, NY
“Surge: New Orleans on High Ground”
Aug. 29, 2006 – Nov. 4, 2006

Ceratana Gallery, Missoula, MT
"Art we Love: From Our Own Collections"
Sep. 2006

Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Strange Figurations”
Sep. 20, 2006 – Oct.14, 2006

Warehouse Gallery, Washington DC
“Arty Gras”
February 28, 2006 – March 19, 2006

JURIED EXHIBITIONS:
Halloween & Vine, Napa, CA
2008, 2006, 2005, 2003

The Halloween Opera, Jim Thorpe, PA
2005, 2004, 2003, 2002

The Costa Mesa Folk Art Invitational, Costa Mesa, CA
2003, 2002, 2001, 2000

SELF PUBLISHED BOOKS, COMICS AND ZINES:
1989-2000 Pickle, Sheep & Monkey, Masonite & His Iceberg, Apple Gone Stinky,
Sewage Waste Disposal Unit #1-7, Pictology #1 & 2, The Shiver Bones Group,
The Earth Distress Book, 661 #1 &2
"10/31", 78 pages, hard bound, 2007

VARIOUS MEDIA APPEARANCES:
Tripwire, 2008, 3 page comic, "The Garden"
The Gambit, New Orleans City Paper, 10/16/07 "Adult Swim"
The Missoula Independant, 8/30/07,"Not Your Average Bear"
The Missoulian Entertainer, 9/6/07, "The Devil Is In The Details"
Direct Art Magazine, 2007 issue
Juxtapoz Magazine Reader Art August 2006
The Gambit, New Orleans City Paper, July 12, 2005
Better Homes & Gardens “Halloween Tricks & Treats” 2004
Horror Comics Review #4, 2004
Collectible Treasures: TV Episode COL-1201
The Funny Papers of Philadelphia, Various Issues 2000-2002
Typewriter #5, Pop Zero Productions 2002
That Boy is Charred #1, Shiverbones 2002
Grotesquerie #1, Shiverbones 2002
The Comics Journal #243, Fantagraphics Publications, May 2002
Our Bullets Are Useless! Threadgill Press, 2000
Freakie Magnet #7,8,9,10,11 1996-1998