Matthew Cornell

My latest body of work is a continuation of my life on the road. I have spent most of my life traveling and moving from place to place. These paintings are about what I see that best encapsulates the America as I have experienced it. What does America mean to me? What have I learned? How does my life, past and present, relate to the places and people I meet? I call these paintings roadside attractions.

I moved a lot as a child and it had an enormous impact on me in terms of my sense of home. I lived in so many places that I had no sense of where I was from and I think a kind of identity was lost going from place to place. I think you never lose sight of who you are growing up in one town or one house. This new work was motivated by the death of my parents and it propelled me to examine the idea of a hometown or childhood home. These paintings are of places of significant importance to me and are part of the search to find my roots, my identity and where I belong.

I moved a lot as a child and it had an enormous impact on me in terms of my sense of home. I lived in so many places that I had no sense of where I was from and I think a kind of identity was lost going from place to place. I think you never lose sight of who you are growing up in one town or one house. This new work was motivated by the death of my parents and it propelled me to examine the idea of a hometown or childhood home. These paintings are of places of significant importance to me and are part of the search to find my roots, my identity and where I belong.

From the violent storms that appear across the Plains, to the contemplative vistas of the Appalachia area, my paintings are sublime observations, filled with light, color and atmosphere. The landscape is both dramatized in panoramic vistas and minimized in simple paintings of the ocean, each with equally effective measures. The work is created in great detail on a small scale to encourage a more intimate interaction between art and the viewer. All human presence has been eliminated, creating an idealized world where nature again rules.

From the violent storms that appear across the Plains, to the contemplative vistas of the Appalachia area, my paintings are sublime observations, filled with light, color and atmosphere. The landscape is both dramatized in panoramic vistas and minimized in simple paintings of the ocean, each with equally effective measures. The work is created in great detail on a small scale to encourage a more intimate interaction between art and the viewer. All human presence has been eliminated, creating an idealized world where nature again rules.

From the violent storms that appear across the Plains, to the contemplative vistas of the Appalachia area, my paintings are sublime observations, filled with light, color and atmosphere. The landscape is both dramatized in panoramic vistas and minimized in simple paintings of the ocean, each with equally effective measures. The work is created in great detail on a small scale to encourage a more intimate interaction between art and the viewer. All human presence has been eliminated, creating an idealized world where nature again rules.

From the violent storms that appear across the Plains, to the contemplative vistas of the Appalachia area, my paintings are sublime observations filled with light, color, and atmosphere. The landscape is both dramatized in panoramic vistas and minimized in simple paintings of the ocean, each with equally effective measures. The work is created in great detail on a small scale to encourage a more intimate interaction between art and viewer. All human presence has been eliminated, creating an idealized world where nature again rules.

I have always been fascinated by weather an it is a key element in all of the work that I do. From minimalist pastel drawings of storms that roam the American landscape, to highly detailed oil paintings of Appalachia and the West, my love of the elements of weather and the acts of creation and destruction of nature imbue my art with profound and simple beauty.

I have always been fascinated by weather an it is a key element in all of the work that I do. From minimalist pastel drawings of storms that roam the American landscape, to highly detailed oil paintings of Appalachia and the West, my love of the elements of weather and the acts of creation and destruction of nature imbue my art with profound and simple beauty.