Matt Sesow: POLITICIZED
At first glance, Matt Sesow’s colourful and dynamic expressionist paintings may be unsettling to the eye, but these powerfully composed works are intended to challenge and inspire viewers beyond the limits of their typical responses. Sesow’s bold portrayals of political figures, social hierarchy, inner turmoil, and powerful and vulnerable animals, capture our attention and sometimes evoke discomfort. They take us to a place of brutality, shock, and awe. His raw and turbulent style results from the unique traumatic events in his life; as a child, the propeller of a landing plane severed his dominant hand and forearm. Through the cathartic act of painting, Sesow expresses the trauma that exists inside of him, and simultaneously considers the suffering, turmoil and contradiction that exists within society at large. A resident of Washington D.C., Sesow’s proximity to the political center of the United States has undeniably influenced his compelling work. With the divisive nature of partisan politics, the vain disputes and petty calculations, the ugly entanglements and bickering of politicians, one cannot deny the existence of faulty systems that are readily being exposed. Sesow’s audacious paintings mirror and reflect the collective trauma in a politicized and troubled world that begs re-orientation, reformation and renewal. |