MATT MANALO: ATHENA AND AJAX

(From Christmas 2018)

"Ajax" (2018)

"Athena" (2019)

Eileen (ET): As you know, I thought to commission these works utilizing my dogs’ fur as it’s the same palette that you work in: cream, black or dark, brown… What did you first think of my query or idea? I thought these would make for interesting portraits of Athena and Ajax.

Matt (MM): I was really excited by the idea! Once it was pitched, my mind was already flooding with so many thoughts! I haven’t worked with fur before and I thought it was a great opportunity to explore the material with no pressure involved. The colors made it easier to deal with because it fell perfectly into the whole color palette I use in my own work. 

ET: What was your reaction when you first received the dog furs?

MM: It was a warm feeling. Not only because of how fur is used to insulate from the cold but also because I used to have a German Shepherd named “King” growing up. It brought me good memories of raising him since he was a puppy. I was also a bit scared since, as I mentioned earlier, it’s my first time using it for my work. It was something deeply familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. 

ET: Please discuss the process of how you came to create these works — from deciding to create two, to how to use the fur, and did you use new materials as a result? Anything else related to the process…

MM: The whole process of creating the pieces didn’t come easy. I had a million ideas but most of them cancelled out since I didn’t know anyone or have the capacity to execute them successfully. One of them was using the fur and turning them into a type of thread but since I didn’t have a lot of fur and didn’t know how to convert fur into thread, that idea ran out the door immediately. One thing I was sure about was to create two pieces because they are two different personalities. The decision to make them those sizes also comes from the idea of German Shepherd pups a few weeks old. So the idea of “new” or “creation” was being played there. 

I’ve been toying with the idea of making “pockets” but since Ive made them before using soft materials, I wanted to do something that had more structure which resulted in me making a wooden grid inside the main structure. That’s a first for that idea and I’m planning on incorporating more of it in my future work. I’ve also been planning to use encaustic wax in my grid work so that was one of the things I wanted to prioritize in using. I dipped some fabric in the wax as well and incorporated it in the pieces. While using new materials/processes, I still wanted to incorporate some of the elements which makes the work “my work”. 

Going back to the use of fur, it was strangely a struggle especially that I didn’t want to hide it or use it as a sort of stuffing. The fibers were too short to keep them clumped up so I can adhere it on the structure so there were a lot of loose fur sticking to my hands. Another reason why I wanted a more rigid structure is because of the fur’s softness. 

ET: At one point you wanted to see images of the dogs.  What was that for?

MM: I will let you know once you receive the pieces.

UPDATE: As a surprise, Matt had inserted tiny figurative portraits of  Athena and Ajax in the package of his works:

ET:  You seem to work pretty quickly?  Is this typical?  

MM: Yes I do. I work fast not only because I work intuitively but also having to feed the rush of ideas in my head or emotions I am feeling. Its either I work fast and be happy about something or have something be completely abandoned. The abstract expressionists used to satisfy my art soul but the gesture of painting a painting has become old for me. 

ET: Anything else you want to say?

MM: I would like to say that I really enjoy and appreciate the challenges you present me Eileen. It always give me that extra brain stretch which prevents me from making my practice to get stale. Being able to work with new materials has always been a passion of mine. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. 

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UPDATE: Tom, Eileen's husband for whom Eileen commissioned the works, loves Matt's Gift (pun intended). He says that it's hard to transcend the kitsch of the "commissioned portrait." But Tom actually feels that not only did Matt succeed in creating our buddy Art, but that these are a fabulous direction in the works he’s seen. In part, he says that the logistics of handling fur made Matt create interior worlds within the frame rather than the exterior world exemplified by, say, when Matt creates individual tiny boxes placed next to each other to create a larger painting. Both approaches are wonderful, of course, but it's great to see another direction taken by Matt.