Meet Matthew Steiner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Steiner.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Matthew. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when I’d started making stuff — only that I’d been interested in doing so since my early childhood (or so my mom tells me). Since then, I’d like to think three major factors are responsible for having gotten me to whatever current point I’m at: copious amounts of trial and error, monthly sacrifices to the translucent gods of old, and exposure to a seemingly infinite community of young creators throughout my college career and otherwise that heavily inspired me to continue pursuing a future in the arts.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Self-doubt was/is the biggest contributor to any turbulence experienced along the way. I was never entirely confident in the content I was producing in my adolescence and this trepidation prohibited me from taking a lot of risks earlier on that I’m only now garnering the confidence for. I strongly believe that everything I’ve created within the past year and half of publicly sharing my artwork online is a result of having set out to become significantly less critical and significantly more patient (/FUN) with myself in regards to my craft!

Please tell us more about your art.
A majority of my shared work thus far is illustration-based, done entirely by hand in a vast amount of notebooks and journals throughout the years. It has been and might always be the medium I am most comfortable with but I’ve recently opened up to exploring alternatives. My subject matter is oftentimes a tantalizing crossroads between situations based in whimsical, childlike innocence and the darker, more visceral reality in which the works reside. It wasn’t until a 2017 New Year’s Eve costume party that I’d been inspired to make what would become the first of several masks that my friends and I started to take more photos of in 2019. These works inspired the creation of a multitude of different, hand-crafted items made by found materials and other crafting supplies I’ve accumulated over the years and has snuck up as something I think I might like doing even more than drawing, especially given its ability to better interact with the community.

Collaborative efforts are always something I’ve taken pride in throughout the creative process (and what I’ve continued to be most proud of). It is not to diminish the romanticized and awe-inspiring idea of completing a body of work by oneself but to instead appreciate the magic that is gathering under a single, creative purpose in which multiple parties collaborate to achieve the desired goal. With the adult world having crashed into many of my friends and me after having graduated college, it’s difficult to get together at all, let alone for the purpose of orchestrating the creation of content.

The masks, the illustrations, and the associated worldbuilding are what I’ve come to believe separates my work from others. It is the culmination of the many hours spent scrawling on a piece of paper or delicately securing materials together without completely singing my fingertips on hot glue guns. I’d like to think of the entire portfolio as a singular narrative meant to bring joy, curiosity, or fear into the lives of those willing to take an extended look into this newfound realm.

Any predictions for the industry over the next few years?
Only ever growing. Social media is an awfully strange and new leviathan within the artistic community and it manages to continuously alter how these works are distributed and shared across networks. I’ve looked to limit my personal social media usage in favor of being far more active on my art accounts. This alternate, more business-like utilization of the various applications has allowed for a slew of new opportunities, discourse with artists I’d admired from only a distance previously, and constant exposure to new creators that I can stalk and subsequently dote on for making such amazing work (from outside their house and before the restraining order is filed).

I can’t anticipate entirely where I will be in the next 5-10 years, only that this train is not stopping (seriously, the brakes are broken and train control headquarters isn’t getting back to me so if someone could send help). If the last year and a half of being immersed in this community is any indication, it’ll probably be somewhere special and definitely surrounded by a bunch of super weird and super talented individuals.

Pricing:

• Prints: $15, 3 for $30
• Originals: $100 (comes with letter/candy (stolen from baby))
• Commissions: $50-75

Contact Info:

• Email: mattsteinerart@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattsteinerart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattsteinerart/

Image Credit:
Chris Carson, Dustin Nguyen, Matt Steiner

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