I grew up in Boston, MA and studied furniture design at RISD. I did a year of architecture before transferring into furniture. I liked architecture but wanted to be more involved in the actual making of my designs. Towards the end of undergrad I started working with microprocessors and have been making interactive systems ever since. Furniture, to me, is a kind of basic physical interactive system. I pursued the more physical computing at ASU where I earned an MFA in Intermedia.
Do you have people who inspired you to create? In what way?
Yes, so many. Early on I was really inspired by the modernist painters: Yves Klein, Piet Mondrian, Kazimir Malevich. I like the minimalism and simplicity. In grad school I did a lot of conceptual art and was looking at people like Jenny Holzer and Joseph Kosuth. For my interactive work I look towards Paul Sermon, Daniel Rozen, David Rokeby, Everyware, The Yes Men, Laure Prouvost, Jim Campbell, Tomaz Simatovic, Ann Hamilton, and Wafaa Bilal.
The exhibition, A Collaboration with Computation, ran through 2 November 2023 at Eric Fischl Gallery in Phoenix, and contained new work from my recent sabbatical. This work is designed entirely with code algorithms. The sculpture forms are then 3D printed and patinated. Other works are printed in 2D or cut out of paper. Unlike AI art, these pieces are all hand-coded by the artist and do not use training samples from others. The work explores how chance operations can lead to refined aesthetic outcomes.
….the making part. The parts where I can get into the zone and go for hours. Typically that’s the coding part. Sometimes the fabrication part. The figuring it out / planning part I like less, it’s a little stressful. The publishing part, even less than that.
Like me, I know you have used a variety of mediums and techniques. At the moment, which are your favorites and why?
Eeeeeeeeeh, I like wood, metal and code. Metal is just fast and forgiving. Wood is extremely unforgiving but has a beautiful warmth that invites touch. Code lets me experiment extremely quickly.
Dual dial calipers. Not the battery-operated kind, but a mechanical set with a hand for mm and in. Use those for everything – there’s a lot of measuring in my work. I’ve misplaced them with all the moving around I’ve been doing recently, hope they turn up.
I did a string of residencies:
Buffalo Creek Art Center in Gardnerville NV
Treats Studios in Spruce Pine NC
Mass Collective in Atlanta GA
Euroatlas in Lisbon Portugal
Pada Studios in Bareirro Portugal
Mass Collective is just an amazing maker space in Atlanta so anyone can join, but I was mentally treating it like another residency.
I moved stuff from place to place with my 2000 Toyota Tacoma, which has over 225,000 miles now. I’d get most of my materials from local suppliers, but get a lot of my tools second-hand on eBay.
It was great having so much time to make new work. At the same time I could feel the different places influencing my process and ideas based on the tools and equipment available. I ended up making smaller work in Portugal, for instance, because I was thinking about how to get it back to the States – perhaps thinking about that too much.
Do you have advice for other artists who might be thinking of following in your footsteps?
Escape while you still can.
Where can someone see more of your creations? Are you on Social Media? (links)
You can see my finished works at https://mosher.art
I share my works in progress on Instagram @matthew_mosher_art
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview Matthew.
