Matt Gondek is an American pop artist.[1] He is a painter, muralist,[2][3] and graphic illustrator focused on deconstructed pop art.[4][5]

Matt Gondek
Born
NationalityAmerican
OccupationVisual artist
Known forDeconstructed pop art
Websitemattgondek.com

Career

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Gondek is based in Los Angeles[6][7] while his paintings and sculptures have been featured at exhibitions worldwide including Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Korea,[8] and Singapore.[9]

His works are usually done in vivid acrylic paint colors with bold lines[10] featuring various cartoon and comic book characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Homer Simpson often exploding, melting, or falling apart.[11][12] His series "Fight Club" in 2022, a project including spiked baseball bats, was also offered as an NFT collection.[13] In December 2022, it was reported that one of the 50 limited-edition pieces from his "Deconstructed Mickeys" collection in 2018, valued at HK$50,000, was stolen from a toy store owner in Hong Kong.[14]

Background

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Gondek is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[15][16] He was named "Best Local Artist" by Pittsburgh Magazine in 2011.[17]

Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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  • Missing Person - Tokyo, Japan (November 2022)[18][19]
  • Discipline - Mexico City (February 2022)[20]
  • RATS - Los Angeles (August 2021)
  • Original Character - New York (April 2021)
  • Mood Swings - Paris (October 2020)
  • CONTROL - Los Angeles (November 2019)[21]
  • Clean Break - Bangkok, Thailand (April 2019)
  • Growing Pains - Hong Kong (November 2018)[22]
  • Clean Break - New York (May 2018)
  • Clean Break - Hong Kong (March 2018)[23]
  • American Gods - Hong Kong (November 2017)
  • Glow in the Dark - Los Angeles, California (September 2017)
  • Unholy Hand - Detroit, Michigan (November 2015)
  • Struggles - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (April 2015)
  • Kill 'Em All - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (September 2014)

Group exhibitions

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  • Korean Art Fair - South Korea (October 2021)[24]
  • Urban Art Fair - Paris (April 2018)
  • Cartoon - London (May 2016)

References

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  1. ^ "From Furniture Factory to Artist’s Studio in the Bronx" New York Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  2. ^ "'Violent' cartoon mural at the heart of a struggle in Eau Gallie over art, politics, culture" Florida Today. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  3. ^ "Prove your Worcester knowledge with our third 'Selfie Scavenger Hunt'!" Worcester Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  4. ^ "L.A.’s Ultimate Head-To-Head Artist Battle Is Going On Tour Across North America" Secret Los Angeles. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  5. ^ "BAIT Releases Its Second 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Capsule" Hypebeast. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  6. ^ "'Exploding cartoon' mural in Eau Gallie may draw large crowd for appeal hearing debate" Florida Today. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  7. ^ "Matt Gondek Releases 'CYBERBULLY' Digital Sculptures" HypeBeast. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  8. ^ "Urban Break art fair becomes playground for graffiti, webtoons, tattoo" Korea Times. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  9. ^ "Street culture convention Culture Cartel grows bigger in its fourth edition" The Straits Times. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  10. ^ "Matt Gondek Puts His Own Twist on Nostalgic Cartoons" Hypebeast. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  11. ^ "Street culture convention Culture Cartel 2022 to be held from Dec 1 to 4" Youthopia. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  12. ^ "The Fourth Edition of Culture Cartel is Back as a Four-Day Physical Event in the Heart of Town at Scape Singapore" Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  13. ^ "Matt Gondek Latest Artist to Burn His Work Through NFTs" HypeArt. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  14. ^ "Mickey Mouse robbers flee with only one sculpture" The Standard. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  15. ^ "Matt Gondek and Brian Gonnella draw together" Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  16. ^ "Indie fashion designers go pop-up in Lawrenceville" Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  17. ^ "Announcements" PSInside. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  18. ^ "Contemporary artist Matt Gondek, who draws popular characters such as Mickey Mouse as a motif, holds a solo exhibition" Pen Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  19. ^ "Dismantling Pop Art. Who is the painter Matt Gondek?" Tokion. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  20. ^ "Artist Interview: Matt Gondek" Street Art News. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  21. ^ "A Look Inside Matt Gondek's "Control" Exhibition at Avenue des Arts LA" Hypebeast. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  22. ^ "Matt Gondek Navigates Through "Growing Pains" in New Exhibit" Hypebeast. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  23. ^ "Matt Gondek Deconstructs Iconic Cartoons For "Clean Break" Pop-Up" Hypebeast. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  24. ^ "Urban Break art fair becomes playground for graffiti, webtoons, tattoo" Korean Times. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
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