Tony Matelli: Arrangements

Introduction

Artists' Profile

 

copyright Alexandra de Cossette


Tony Matelli

Tony Matelli (b. 1971, Chicago) earned his BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 1993, followed by his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1995. He is currently based in New York.

 

In 1991, Matelli participated in the Alliance of Independent Colleges of Art – Independent Study in New York and received the NYFA Artist Fellowship in 1998. His work is included in prestigious collections worldwide, including the ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art (Denmark), Bergen Kunstmuseum (Norway), Bonnier Collection (Stockholm, Sweden), CCA Andratx (Mallorca, Spain), Altoids Collection at the New Museum (New York, USA), The Cultural Foundation Ekaterina (Moscow, Russia), FRAC Bordeaux (France), Mudam Luxembourg, Museum Ludwig (Cologne, Germany), and He Art Museum (Guangdong, China), among others.

 

Matelli has extensive solo exhibition experience, including the Yu-Hsiu Museum of Art (Nantou, 2025), Maruani Mercier Gallery (Brussels, 2023; New York, 2021), Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery (Paris, 2023), Nino Mier (Los Angeles, 2022), Alone Gallery (New York, 2020), Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery (Stockholm, 2019), Pilevneli Gallery (Istanbul, 2018), Real Estate Fine Art (New York, 2018), Marlborough Contemporary (London, 2017), and more. He has been featured in various major group exhibitions, such as 50 Years of Hyperrealistic Sculpture (Tampere Art Museum, Finland, 2024) and Reshaped Reality: 50 Years of Hyperrealistic Sculpture (Palazzo Bonaparte, Italy, 2024). He has also shown at other prestigious venues, including the Singer Museum Laren (Netherlands, 2024), Hamburger Kunsthalle (Germany, 2024), and others.

 

While often classified as hyperrealist, Matelli’s sculpture in fact showcases a boundless, distinct style that moves toward a self-exploratory, dialectic space where existential questions arise. Through highly refined craftsmanship in depicting his subjects and presenting clear, well-defined themes, he gains viewers’ trust and directly invites their engagement, encouraging them to confront and interpret the ideas and values expressed in his works. This fosters a personal connection and understanding rooted in their individual life experiences. Drawing from everyday feelings and emotions, Matelli’s art externalizes his own rebellious spirit. Rather than critiquing systems or using his works as vessels for theoretical concepts and ideologies, what he seeks to achieve is simply to allow his art, imbued with a Romantic spirit, to forge an inner connection between his creations and the audience.

Photos