history.sesow.com/Press Room/2006

Press archive · 2006

Two-person show

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Matt Sesow shows at Gallery Neptune, 2006

Matt Sesow at Gallery Neptune

"Driven" (Bethesda, MD)

Two-person show with Dana Ellyn

August 25 - Sept 4 2006

Some of the paintings on display by Matt Sesow:

"Sobriety Check"

24" x 36"

oil on stretched canvas

"Handmaiden"

24" x 20"

oil on stretched canvas

"Driven"

60" x 29"

acrylic on canvas banner

"Parking Jockeys"

24" x 36"

oil on stretched canvas

"soap box"

24" x 20"

oil on stretched canvas

"walmart shopper, disabled parking spot, a hotdog"

15" x 20"

oil/mixed on watercolor board

"bumper skiing"

15" x 20"

oil/mixed on watercolor board

"mister smith"

15" x 20"

oil/mixed on watercolor board

"Standing at the Crossroads"

60" x 29"

acrylic on canvas banner

"The Habitual"

11" x 15.5"

oil/mixed on matboard

From the "Express" daily paper (Washington, DC), June 2006:

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Searchable text of the clippings

Machine-read (OCR) from the scans above on October 11, 2026. Spelling and line breaks may be wrong; check against the image before quoting.

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ry Ay gallery VY eptune CURRENT

riven” Dana Ellyn and Matt Sosow ‘tists reception Friday, June 9, 6-9 PM

‘As the downtown of Bathesda continues to increase is cutural and residential venues, our fitle city becomes more of an urban center al the time. It fun to come here and is hard to park. Funny What atte bit of color can evoke,

Oh, the frst gimpse of that yelow paper on the windshield! If there is conversation most easily made inthe city, i's about great food and annoying parking tickets. What better theme to bring to Bethesda's Gallery Neptune than a show about the notorious PARKING VIOLATION. Leave ito two of Washington, DC's most active painiers and poltical salirists, Dana Elin and Matt Sesow to bring some levity to this topic. In addition to parking tickets, there is so much more to owning a car these days. ‘As a result, Driven” wil explore a range of topics. including fuel economy, status symbols, smart ‘growth, road rage and drunk driving

Matt Sesow has been painting seriously since 1993 ‘and is now a ful time arts ving in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC. Matt's ent ifestyle is centered ‘on painting and seling his work. At any given

month, Matt's work can be seen through open studio visits, galery exhibits, street festivals and on his well maintained website, iww.sesow.com,

Most of his work is gestural, vivid and energetic. ‘There is an obvious immediacy of paint in Matt's work, a visual acho of the wake up call he shouts to Us, Its his passionate response to the human condition. Along Ist of exhibits and awards trail ‘behind him, most notable are works shown at the ‘American Visionary Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, ‘The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The Fok Artists Museum, Flat Rock, North Carolina, ‘and at the Kentuck festival in Northport, Alabama, “| ‘suppose everybody has experienced some pain ‘and fear in their ives. Just as paintings of pretty ‘lowers and sunsets with horsies make us smile and feel content, | want to paint emotionaly charged intense works that cause discomfort or inspire people to challenge themselves. | had some unique physical trauma as a chid that got me started on this path...m a generaly happy person, but have taught myself fo channel anger and intensity n art The best musicians and painters have done i

those are my heroes.”

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Dana Ellyn lives and works in an equally productive ‘and vital artistic environment, From her ‘Washington, DC studio and home, Dana creates poltical and social commentary using a vibrant palette and narrative content. "The subject mattor ‘of war and its effects have been central to many of ‘my works over the past three years. | hope you can see from the paintings | create that | am ‘committed to mission of documenting the times 1 lve in, | feel that itis the responsibily of Contemporary painters to create meaningful work and respond, through ther art, tothe poltics and polices that shape our world not to simply ‘reguroitate trends or create decorative art to be ‘hung above couches.” Dana supports herself full time as an artist through the sale of her paintings ‘and by teaching painting classes from her studio. Her vast portfolio can be found on her website (which is updated frequently with new paintings) at won danaeliyn.com

Below are ten questions that Matt and Dana responded to for their exhibit "Driven"

If you were a car, what would you look like? Matt: Without a doubt, | would be a Tuk Tuk. the ‘three-whealed backbone of transportation for the developing world. Id be colored with imagery of ‘voodoo and Christianity, socialsm and capitalism, ‘als and bunnies.

Dana: I be a two-seater. Just room for me and Matt. When | need to transport paintings to hang a ‘show, I attach a tralaron the back with my ‘website plastered across it in huge letters.

Ifyou could walk around wearing a moter cop uniform all day, how would that change your Hite?

Matt: People would stare at me less. Perhaps 1 would get a level of respect that | have never fet Dana: It sure would be a change from spending all day every day at home painting in my pajamas.

I you were a car, who would you want to drive you?

Matt: Dana Ellyn, Courtney Love on heroin, or my Dana: Teenagers, so | could sten to their ‘conversations and remember why Im so happy to

you were a car and drive-in movie theaters: were popular again, what movies would you roally want to seo?

Matt: "Gummo", "Fizcarraldo’, "Rushmore" or Sarah Siverman's “Jesus is Magic™

Dana: I take my collection of favorite feel-good ficks and play them allover and over on the big ‘screen; "Drop Dead Fred’, "Grease", "Pretty in Pink”, “Murie’s Wedding” and so on.

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What do you think of the art car phenomenon? Matt: | respect the idea of people obsessing on ‘anything. Almost anything that causes someone ‘happiness and motivates their creativity is ok with me. | know some people that have created art ‘cars, and they are swell folk.

Dana: Ibe afraid to drive behind one ~ something might fy off and hit me.

I you could get a parking ticket that was hand made and really beautiful, would you mind, {getting a ticket?

Matt: No, because maybe I could selliton eBay to pay forthe violation.

Dana: It would almost fee! tke a reward for my ‘misbehavior.

If you could recycle parking tickets, what would you do with them?

Matt: | would probably paint on them or build a park ‘bench.

Dana: Do a drawing ofthe person who received the tickat on each one. Then, do an exhibit of all of them and call Violated"

If you could feed a meter with something other than coins, what would you feed it?

Matt: personal sacrifice

Dana: Compliments,

It parking tickets wore edible, do you think ‘most people would eat them?

Matt: Yes, especialy ifthey tasted lke cheese, Dana: If they made them out of fat, addictive foods people might even park ilegally on purpose.

Finish this sentence: Parking tickets are to people, what to

Matt: "Parking ickels are fo people, what eternal ‘damnation isto sinners.

Dana: “Parking tickets are to people, what hangovers are to me on Sunday mornings ~| don't lke tham but | know what | did to daserve i”

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= Q&A: 'Driven' in Bethesda

ONE COULD SAY that Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow create site-specific paintings. In the

ase of "Driven," an exhibition at Gallery Neptune, the D.C.-based artists were asked not to make works to fit the gallery's space but the gallery's neighborhood — traffic-chaked, there's-no-parking Bethesda. The result is @ series of colorful, comic, eerie, insightful paintings about the vehicular madness that is the madern driving experience. Express talked with Ellyn, whose "Driving Miss Crazy" is at right, and Sesow about the exhibition.

EXPRESS: How did this show come about? te

MATT SESOW: What Elyse (Harrison, the gallery's owner] asked us to do was to cr paintings based on our opinions on the car culture. We basically worked on it for about two months, creating work for the show. And I guess one of the funny things worth mentioning is

that neither Dana nor I have cars.

EXPRESS: SESON

we needed to reduce expenses.

Yeah, we both used to have cars of course but in order to become full-time painters

EXPRESS: Was road rage the first place you went to with this assignment, after which you widened your range?

DANA ELLYN: For me. it didn't come from a place of anger, I started off with almost a comical view of it — just 3 commentary from all points of view. Elise's original view was to talk about parking tickets, because apparently Bethesda has these horrible parking problems, and Matt and I went up there, where we had dinner and hung out and just observed the culture.

SESON

maybe parking tickets aren't that bad an idea. Also, I have a physical disability, and I don't

f someone parks illegally in front of @ building, so my take on it was more like, well

know if you've ever seen anyone just drive into a handicapped space

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jh, yes. Where do your other inspirations come from?

lot of my Shriners stuff came from is, I grew up in the Midwest where the Shriners are really big, and they drive around in those little cars. Dana and I completed around 60 paintings for the show, and only 15 or so of them made it into the show, sa we have a lat more in the series

ELLYN: We are both pretty project-oriented, since we got this assignment some months ago.

‘ou both sound awfully hard-working.

ur next project is called "31 Days in July." We each independently create 2 painting, one 2 day. We'll be inspired by The Washington Post, just taking off from what the news is that day. Get up, read the paper, start the painting

hat sounds ... exhausting. do 2 30-by-40 inch painting for each day, so they're pretty huge. We think it's really

important to document the times we live in; that’s what the project's perfect for. We're serious about the idea of paintings that have a story or make people think or talk about it. We have 2 responsibility to our time.

» Gallery Neptune, 4808 Auburn Ave, Bethesda; through July 1, 301-718-0809 (Bethesda)

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Five reasons to get off your couch this week:

DRIVEN

IEXHIBIT] If "Cars" Isn't up your alley, get in touch with your inner road rage at this two-person show that explores the way parking [sues and autos in general can drive sal ite nutty in ah increasingly ‘congested city, Local artists Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow show brightly ‘colored — and slightly fright paintings that just might ‘what you look ike when you behind that lousy river or are stuck inrush hour traffic pens Thursday Reception Fay, 6-9 13808 Auburn Av. Bethesoa. roe

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