Since the mid-1980's Matthew McCaslin has been recognized for his sculptures and installations. He has been committed to invoking the phenomena of nature and technology, as well as elements of time. McCaslin's lexicon typically incorporates electric outlets, labyrinthine cables and conduit, safety lights, clocks, fans, radios, and other amalgamations of workmen materials and everyday appliances. His repeated use of television monitors amidst this equipment--either stacked, turned sideways, or on their backs, seamlessly merge video with sculpture. Working with both physical and psychological space, these works operate more specifically in the expanded context of the social and architectural environment, demanding that the viewer not only view the spectacle, but also enter into it.
Although highly formal, McCaslin's work gives the illusion of spontaneity and disorder, often creating a tension of flux and suspense, as if something was continually about to happen. By emphasizing the function and aesthetics of such equipment, McCaslin's artwork amplifies the impact of our electronic age, and in so doing addresses the energy or entropy and the authority or anarchy it may represent. He poetically weaves overlapping images of both the rural and urban landscape, global technology and the media to present a metaphorical collage of our increasingly complex lives and multi-dimensional environment.
Matthew McCaslin has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums throughout the world. In 1998 and 1999 a large exhibition traveled to museums in Switzerland, Germany and California, accompanied by a catalogue, "Works - Sites", which serves as a comprehensive mid-career documentation.
Matthew McCaslin: Adrift at Feigen Contemporary, Jan. 8 - Feb. 14, 2004