Latest / philly has heART / Muse Gallery feat. Matthew Raghunauth

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Muse Gallery feat. Matthew Raghunauth · philly has heART

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This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to
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Philly Has Heart Podcast. In this podcast, we
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sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
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curators, and other creatives who comprise the
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Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
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exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
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are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
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is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
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this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
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me always is my producer, Lucinda Daggerland.
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Hey, hey, hey. And today we have visual artist
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Matthew Ragnhoff. So glad to have you today.
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Welcome. I'm glad to be here. So as we do with
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each of our artists, can you take us through
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your journey that brought you to the visual arts?
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What moments, both big and small, directed you
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to where you are today? What brought me to the
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visual arts? I mean, I don't think I remember
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a time ever where I wasn't involved in the visual
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arts for as long as I can remember. I always
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had a drawing pad, crayons, coloring books, watercolors
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nearby. It was always an interest that I expressed
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from very young that my parents were happy to
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encourage at the time. I found that at any moment
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or at any time, it was always the thing that
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I found myself wanting to go to and wanting to
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do. So when I had free time during classes when
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I was younger, I would be scribbling away. At
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family parties, when I got bored, I would sneak
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away to my room and be drawing there. Even when
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I was in college, whenever I had a couple of
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credits available, I would try and take an elective
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class. So I found it just something that I always
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gravitated to, and it was something I wanted
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to spend my time doing. So you went to school
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for digital interactive media at Drexel. And
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I think you are the first Drexel grad that has
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joined us on the podcast, yeah? Yes, yes, I think
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so. What is the pipeline from digital interactive
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media to art? I think the path to digital media,
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it was actually a way of me retaining art in
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my life. And I think it's more of a circular
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path where digital media helped me with my art
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practice more. So when I was younger, I was very
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creative and I liked to draw and paint a lot.
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But once I got into high school... SAT season,
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starting to apply for colleges. It was not something
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that was encouraged for me to pursue as a serious
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degree. I think my parents had dreams of me becoming
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a doctor or a lawyer and very quickly that proved
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to not happen. So my path to digital media, it
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was a way for me to balance something creative,
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something that required a visual design, creative
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eye, while being technical. It seemed to be a
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compromise between my parents and I. It's actually
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informed my art practice quite a bit, I've realized
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when I've gotten older. I think the two actually
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help inform each other. So I think about some
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things that I practice in my studio that apply
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to my nine -to -five work. What do you do for
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your nine -to -five work? Financial corporate.
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Oh, okay. So I like to say it's my corporate
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drag in the morning. Yes. We read that you have
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found that separating your career from your craft
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helps you isolate and refine your passionate
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process. Sidebar. Those who listened to last
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month Jason Chen's episode heard his advice to
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maintain a job that allows you to take care of
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rent, food, and et cetera in order to allow you
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to have a better focus on your art. What words
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of encouragement say to others who are interested
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in pursuing art but like you do not have that
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formal education in art? And how... That balance
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from making sure that you have that foundation
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of safety net. Your needs met. What is that,
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Maslow's Pyramid of Needs? The hierarchy. Yes.
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And that allows you to then continue to pursue
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your art in a different way. I'm a firm believer
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in separating my art from my work because my
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studio time, my painting practice is very...
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precious to me. It's a sacred time. It's a sacred
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practice and a very important space for me to
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maintain. And I never wanted that to become work
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for me. I didn't want to impose this pressure
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of having to maintain my livelihood on that.
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I wanted this space to remain sacred and have
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the decisions and the choices I make in this,
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in my studio to be. completely emotionally fueled
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and not impact my day -to -day life. And honestly,
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I've found that separating my art and my work,
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it's not so much a compromise of doing less of
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either, but it's a strategy for me to protect
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my work. And I mean that in the sense of something
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that I've discovered and I've been thinking about
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more recently is that being a good artist And
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being good at being an artist are two very different
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skills. So I think a lot of times artists focus
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on refining their craft solely. And I think a
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lot of people have a perception and assumption
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of artists where they focus all of their time
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and their energy on their practice, on their
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work. And they spend all their nights just emotionally
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pouring themselves into their work. And you dedicate
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your entire life to your... And I think if you
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talk to any successful or practicing artist,
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you'll learn that that's very far from the truth.
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Being good at being an artist means finding the
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balance in your life to continue making art and
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do that in a way that you avoid burnout and fit
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it into your life that is practical. I think
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it's a way of redefining what being a successful
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artist is. I think if you're asking the question,
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how do I balance these two things, you're already
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on the right track of wanting to find that way.
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So it's definitely worth thinking about how can
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I protect this space in a way that I won't burn
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out and I would neglect my livelihood. And how
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can I keep doing this? Because I definitely need
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my 9 to 5. I need to... pay for my livelihood.
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My painting materials are expensive. Acrylics
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are so expensive. And it doesn't matter how many
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paintbrushes that I buy that are on sale. There's
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no way that I go to Blick and I spend less than
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$200. I don't know how that happens. And I don't
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want to have to limit myself in that space. But
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I think the two fuel each other. And I don't
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want to have to compromise with my work. I don't
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want to have to compromise being an artist by
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being a professional or vice versa. I imagine
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that if your livelihood depended on your art,
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then I'm wondering, do you think your art might
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become compromised? And maybe you're saying this.
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Your art might become compromised because you
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have to make it a certain degree of commercial
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in order to sell it? Definitely, definitely.
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That's what I'm saying. I mean, I don't... ever
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want to view my paintings as deliverables. I
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don't want to meet a criteria. That gave me chills.
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Yeah, I don't want to have to meet a criteria
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and get graded on it. My studio is a place where
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the decisions that I make are 100 % emotionally
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fueled, and I want to keep that that way. I don't
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want to. Have to worry about, is this going to
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sell? Are people going to like this? The least
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of my concerns is whether people will want this
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from me. My biggest concern in the studio is,
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what does this do for me? And am I expressing
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the thing that I'm trying to do? Is this successful
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to me? Prevails before how it's perceived to
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anyone. And by putting it in a commercial setting,
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I would have to compromise. the reason why I
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love painting. Yeah, I primarily paint with acrylics
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in my elective classes that I took in college.
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That's what I learned to work with. More recently,
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I've gotten into other materials because I love...
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experimenting with different materials and different
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methods. I've picked up airbrushing recently.
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I'm very hesitant to start oil painting, even
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though everyone says that that's real painting,
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but whatever. I know that more artists that we've
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spoken with are acrylic and love that there is
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a quicker process. Yeah, exactly. I mean, painting
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with acrylics is part of the way that helps me
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fit it into my life because I don't have the
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time to let something dry for, I don't know,
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30 years before I can look at it again. And also
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just given my general style of painting, I paint
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in a series of layers and I like to be able to
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change my mind quickly. So I like being able
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to test something out. walk away for three minutes,
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see if I like it or not, and cover it up immediately.
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That's always been my process. Can you share
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how your cultural background has influenced your
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art? Yeah, definitely. So my family is from Guyana,
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which is in South America, culturally Caribbean
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or Indo -Guyanese. And being in Guyana, it's
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a very big mix of people. There's many people
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from... different diaspora. So there's a lot
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of cultural influence from South Asia, the Middle
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East, Latin America, the West Indies. So it's
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a big fusion of different religions and practices,
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foods, and music. And a lot of what I'm inspired
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by with my paintings aren't just necessarily
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art, but it's... music, it's fashion, it's food,
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it's a lot of different sensations and it's always
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been so full. My pot of inspiration has always
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been so full. My family being from the tropics
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and being Caribbean, there's a lot of color,
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there's a lot of pattern and texture and my mom
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and my aunties watch a lot of Bollywood movies
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and the outfits and the set designs, it's so
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ornamented that... These are the things that
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I've just regularly seen growing up, is these
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bright, intricate patterns, whether it be the
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wallpaper in my auntie's house or couches or
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cousins' saris and whatnot. So I think that comes
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into my work a lot. It influences my color palette
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a lot. I think there's a general, warm hue that
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I... lean towards. Speaking of, your art explores
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broader themes of nostalgia, memory, and loss.
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What inspires this exploration? I am a very nostalgic
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person. Whether that be good or bad, I always
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look back on memories very fondly. Memories with
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my family when I'm younger, memories being with
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my friends, and I think I kind of treat my painting
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practice, I treat my paintings like a photo album,
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like a memory book or almost like a diary. A
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lot of my paintings can be like diary entries
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because it's my way of capturing moments and
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memories. I think a lot of the subjects that
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I do paint are of very specific moments that
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I have with people. And my paintings are a way
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of me to translate or communicate. the relationship
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I have with those people. So the love that I
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have for them, you can almost see them as like
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love letters to them. My way of remembering the
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times that I've spent with people and how I feel
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about them and whether they're still in my life
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or not, whether I love them, have loved them,
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it finds its way into my work. Do you have a
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bucket list venue where you'd like to show your
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art? I think I might have already crossed off
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a major bucket list item because more recently
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I got the opportunity to project my artwork at
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the PMA. The opportunity came from my friend
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Christina, my best friend Christina, who DJs
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the evenings, Friday evenings, as part of the
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PMA's new DJ residency. she asked me to use my
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artwork as background visuals. Wow. That's so
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cool. Shout out, Christina. Yeah. Everybody needs
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a Christina in their life. I think I'm your Christina,
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actually. Oh, I'm so lucky to have a DJ Xtina.
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Everyone, if you can, get one. Get one. What
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made that experience so meaningful is that it's
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the PMA. I mean, yeah. I've lived in Philly for
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over a decade now, and when I was at Drexel,
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when I would have the weekends, I would walk
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across the bridge and go to the PMA and spend
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hours there. It was always a place that I went
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to for inspiration, especially when they had
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student discounts. Yes. They have artist discounts
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now. They do. They brought them back. While my
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paintings weren't hanging on the walls in a traditional
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sense, what was meaningful to me is that This
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is a place where people come to experience art,
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and for a couple nights over the season, my work
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was part of that experience. And so when I've
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gone and I see people lined up on the stairwell,
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they're with friends, and people are dancing
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and chatting, and they're taking photos of my
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projected paintings. Photos of them, photos of
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themselves with them. It was extremely emotional
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just to see that my work is in this place that
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people come to to experience artwork. And I got
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the opportunity to be part of that experience
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for so many people. I can't even say that it
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was a full circle in any way because there's
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no point in my life where I ever would have thought
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that this is a possibility for me. So I'm going
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to have to do some work to think about what another
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bucket list item could be. Because I don't know
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what could match that. Because your art was also
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a part of an entire experience, right? It wasn't
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just, hey, my art is on the wall here. No, my
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art is being part of a moment as well as with
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a close friend of mine, mixing her art with yours
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in an experience where, People are not just walking
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around the hallways. They are interactive with
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each other, with the music, with the experience,
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and your art got to be a part of that. That is
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incredible. Did your parents get to see that?
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They did not, yeah. What say they? Hmm? What
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say they? What did they say? So my parents are
16:58
very interesting. I said my mom. We don't have
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to talk about it. Oh, no, no, no. It's good.
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Okay. My parents are really funny. I sent my
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mom a couple videos and photos, and she said,
17:10
okay, with a thumb. That is such the mom response.
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I could go through all of our, she has so many
17:20
questions all the time, and any time it's a response,
17:24
okay. Yeah. I mean, she'd have more words if
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it was about renewing my passport or what I have
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in my savings, but. Yeah. Okay. You mentioned
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off mic before we started recording, and I knew
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this because I saw it when I Googled you, that
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you showed a mural during the Philadelphia Flower
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Show. What was that like? How long did you work
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on the mural? What was the scale? How did you
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get asked? Yeah, the Flower Show mural this year,
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that was... Also a very interesting experience.
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So I've worked with Conrad, I've worked with
18:02
Streets Department and Mural Arts a couple of
18:04
times in the past. My first mural with them was
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back in 2020 in the Fashion District. I've done
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some pop -up or temporary murals for Mural Arts
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over the summer. Over the winter, Conrad did
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reach out to me asking if I would be one of the
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artists to do a mural at the Flower Show. In
18:24
complete candor, I looked at this email and I
18:26
was like, ugh, another thing I have to apply
18:28
to. And I was scrolling and I was like, wait,
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wait, wait, there's no application. I get to
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just do this, wow. I'm happy to have been in
18:36
the arsenal already to be picked to do this because
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it's definitely the biggest mural to scale, both
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in size and how many people got to experience
18:45
that was the biggest opportunity for a mural
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for me. But I would say that... The process of
18:55
making this mural and coming up with the concept
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for it was, it was a little tricky because the
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theme of the flower show this year was centered
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around cultural ties and cultural practices in
19:09
terms of gardening. And it had a lot of focus
19:11
on family and lineage. And this came during a
19:16
time where my relationship and my feelings with
19:19
my family were a little more complicated. I found
19:25
it difficult to kind of come up with a concept
19:28
when the whole ethos of my artwork is honoring
19:33
people that I love. When it's not that that love
19:38
wasn't there anymore, it's just that it was a
19:40
little harder to access at the time. So I found
19:44
it frustrating at points to find a way to create
19:49
a concept for this mural that fit with a theme
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that was... Honoring my family without being
19:57
dishonest. And what I chose to do was kind of
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re -strategize how I approach the themes of my
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artwork. And what I ended up doing was rather
20:11
than focusing on specific individuals or people,
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I focused on the experiences and the spaces that
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I remember having with my family and growing
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up. The kitchen, the household, the gardens,
20:25
cooking, and the stories of my grandfather and
20:30
farming. It kind of tiptoed around all of the
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experiences I had that referenced my culture
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without solely focusing on people. So that was
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interesting for me to kind of reformulate how
20:44
I came up with the subject matter for this mural.
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But what I also had to do with this was... also
20:52
kind of re -strategize how I approach the application
20:55
of my painting practice as well, because with
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my experience in making murals, I will work up
21:02
until the absolute last minute, or even past
21:06
the last minute. I have been in shows where I'm
21:10
at the exhibit, I'm at the gallery. And I'm still,
21:14
like, erasing things off of my paintings. And
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people are walking past me like, what the hell
21:18
is this guy doing? And I'm like, no, no, no.
21:20
I can do this. I'm the guy. It's my art. So it
21:26
was very intentional for me to simplify my color
21:29
palette to four colors and keep my design very
21:34
flat and blocky. And I did that in a way that
21:39
kind of referenced. My professional work, with
21:44
my design work, we have this concept of an MVP,
21:48
minimum viable product, which essentially is
21:53
what I think it's essentially the same concept
21:56
as don't let perfection be the antithesis of
22:00
done. I think I got that right. No, that's right.
22:03
I've said that before. So the premise is to get
22:08
something done. Within whatever time constraint
22:11
that you have, you may have to cut certain things
22:14
that you wanted to. So in the design world, whether
22:17
that be a certain experience, a certain flow,
22:20
a button, drop down, what have you. But in terms
22:24
of my artwork and with this mural, I knew that
22:29
I wanted to get something done more than I wanted
22:33
it to be, quote unquote, perfect in my mind.
22:36
Because getting it done. would leave me at least
22:39
the opportunity maybe to then work off of something.
22:43
But working over and over and over again to achieve
22:47
this concept of perfect might get me down to
22:50
the mark where this isn't what I want and I'm
22:53
not happy with it and it's nowhere near what
22:56
I wanted to do versus let me get something done
23:00
and then leave myself maybe the time to build
23:03
on it. It was a new way to approach my painting
23:09
practice, both conceptually, thematically, as
23:13
well as practical, technically. Another question.
23:18
You are the newest member of Muse Gallery. I
23:23
am, I am. Congratulations. Thank you. What was
23:27
the application process like? Oh, another application.
23:30
Exactly, another application. I was offered to
23:34
apply from... going to the gallery during first
23:37
Fridays I think back in December of last year
23:42
and there's a specific artist that I was really
23:45
excited to see their exhibit and walking around
23:48
in the gallery we just me and my friend we started
23:51
chatting with a couple of people and one of them
23:54
happens to be a member of the gallery and after
23:58
talking to her she asked you know are you an
24:00
artist I said yes Actually, I didn't even have
24:03
a business card yet. I just wrote down my Instagram
24:05
on a piece of paper. But she encouraged me to
24:08
actually apply after looking at my work, and
24:10
I was like, oh my God, a gallery member wants
24:14
me to apply? Wow. And so it was over the moon.
24:17
I was so excited because even though pursuing
24:22
a serious or real path in art wasn't a consideration
24:30
for me, The dream of being part of and in a gallery
24:35
has always existed in my mind, but it just seemed
24:38
so out of reach, so unattainable, so impractical
24:42
for me that when the opportunity was shown to
24:45
me, I was so eager for it to be as perfect as
24:49
possible. So answering every question, I was
24:53
thinking about, you know, like, what is the most
24:56
honest way I can answer these questions while,
24:58
you know, proving myself to... this gallery and
25:04
I'm lucky enough that I have the smartest boyfriend
25:08
in the entire world and he helped to edit my
25:11
responses and he'd be like, Matthew, this doesn't
25:15
make any fucking sense. And I'd be like, no,
25:18
you're not an artist, you don't get it. But he
25:22
was usually right. I was just so over the moon
25:25
to have the opportunity to apply. to be a member,
25:28
because I'm very familiar with being denied from
25:32
a lot of applications. Again, after submitting
25:35
my application very quickly, it was a unanimous
25:38
yes. And I remember I was at a concert with my
25:43
friends when I got the email, and I walked away,
25:45
and I was just like, they were like, what's wrong?
25:49
And I was like, nothing's wrong, everything's
25:52
great. So yeah, I'm so, so, so excited to be
25:57
part of this gallery. And I have the opportunity
25:59
to have my first solo exhibit with them in maybe
26:04
a year or so. And what's been filling my time
26:06
now is working on this series of paintings that
26:12
would become my solo exhibit. I'm so impressed
26:17
with all of the artists there. And Val? Val is
26:20
great. Yeah. I actually, when you stopped in,
26:24
that's when I was gallery sitting for Val. Yeah.
26:30
Someone bought that. Yeah, somebody bought the
26:32
diptych. Wow. Yeah. Great work. Really great
26:36
work. And I love how diverse the group of artists
26:40
there are. Who else? Jean Plows. I love her work.
26:44
Yes, yes. It's like, how would you call it, abstract
26:47
expressions. Yeah, and what I was really curious
26:51
about and what I think made me a little bit nervous
26:53
about the application was that I was looking
26:56
at the group of artists that were at Muse already
26:58
and it was all or mostly contemporary and abstract.
27:02
And my work is very not that. It's a lot of portraiture.
27:07
It's very narrative. And I didn't think that
27:10
my type of work would fit into this gallery.
27:14
I don't know, maybe that's part of the reason
27:16
why they did want someone who had 100%. And even
27:20
when we've had them on, each one of them have
27:23
had variations of what their art has been. Carolyn's
27:27
is entirely textile, right? And she features
27:31
incarcerated subjects. Or wrongly incarcerated
27:35
subjects. Matthew, do you have anything coming
27:39
up in terms of your art that you wish to share
27:42
with the audience? What's been taking up the
27:45
most time right now is working on the series
27:49
of paintings that would eventually become my
27:51
solo exhibit. And I'm really working on kind
27:58
of a tight theme, which isn't something I've
28:00
really done before. I've always created my paintings
28:03
one -off. I haven't really tried to have a running
28:07
thread between them. But what I'm working on
28:10
with this series is... The theme of the relationships
28:19
between people and the perceptions of yourself
28:23
and the connections that you make with others
28:26
within the music scene, the DIY party scene or
28:32
the rape scene. And I wanted that to be the focus
28:35
because I think so much of how I am how I am.
28:40
who I've become is so informed by the music scene
28:46
in Philadelphia. I found my niche group, my niche
28:49
community, and it's all been surrounding music,
28:53
artists that we love and DJs that we love, spaces
28:55
that we love, and I've made the longest -running
28:58
connections with people there. Because I know,
29:03
you know... navigating the world when you're
29:06
a young adult I get out of college it's like
29:07
I'm not in class anymore I'm not surrounded by
29:09
the same people anymore but the people I would
29:11
see again and again were the people that I saw
29:14
in these spaces on the dance floor and I made
29:18
the the most and the deepest connections with
29:22
people on the dance floor and I think this theme
29:26
is something I may have kind of touched on or
29:29
referenced in some of my other paintings but
29:31
I want this to be the center of my work for this
29:38
collection. So whether it be people that I've
29:42
met on the dance floor, the relationships that
29:44
I've made with people, memories of people in
29:48
certain spaces. So I'm actually doing a little
29:52
bit of side research because I have a lot of
29:57
interest in psychology and social theory as well.
30:02
I've recently gotten really interested and I've
30:06
been reading some of the essays by Charles Cooley.
30:10
And he has this collection of essays that he
30:15
has this theory called the looking glass self,
30:18
which is a three part way of determining your
30:25
self perception, the way people kind of think
30:28
about who they are. And it's in response to.
30:32
how others see them. So that three part way of
30:36
finding your perception being, I'm a person and
30:40
I walk into a room and there are other people
30:42
in that room. And the first thing that I do is
30:46
I notice those people looking at me. So I'm watching
30:51
myself be perceived by these people. The next
30:54
step of that is assuming and thinking, what do
30:59
these people think about me? So whether that
31:03
be based on my appearance, based on how I'm acting,
31:05
I'm making assumptions on what they think I am,
31:09
who they think I am. And based on those assumptions,
31:14
that informs how I then act in this space, which
31:20
is a really funny theory to kind of look at because
31:22
it's a way of basing yourself and your kind of
31:28
identity, your perception. It's based on other
31:31
people, but it has nothing to do with other people
31:34
because it's all these references going on in
31:36
your own head. It's saying, I think these people
31:39
are thinking this, so because of what I think
31:42
they're thinking, I'm going to respond in this
31:44
way. So if I walk into a room and I see these
31:48
people looking at me and I think they think I
31:51
am weird and crazy and out of place, if I think...
31:58
What is this guy doing in this space? Because
32:01
I'm telling myself that I then behave and I react
32:04
in that way. And then I start feeling like I
32:07
don't belong in this space when in reality, none
32:10
of that's actually happening. It's all based
32:12
on assumptions. And the long way back is that
32:16
I find a lot of that relating to the music scene
32:21
as well because of the different niche genres
32:25
and the different people that you meet. There
32:27
maybe could be different codes that you kind
32:31
of swatch out or different people that you meet.
32:33
There could be a lot of your personality and
32:35
your persona that's informed by the places that
32:37
you're in. And I think especially when you're
32:40
younger, you're very focused on how others perceive
32:47
you, especially when you're younger. It's just
32:50
this interest merging in with this, you know.
32:55
that is very important to me. I've been thinking
32:57
a lot about that and how that informs my work
33:02
and that's what I want to kind of focus and center
33:05
on with this group of paintings. I think I don't
33:09
know how many directions I went with that. Yes,
33:11
no, this is great. I'm picturing a DJ on the
33:14
first Friday opening of the gallery with all
33:19
of your paintings. It's absolutely amazing. It's
33:21
Christina. Yes. Yeah, get a DJ Xtina. That's
33:25
my main advice. Matthew, thank you so much for
33:31
sharing your stories with us today and joining
33:34
in this conversation. Where can our audience
33:36
find you online? My Instagram is ragnot, R -A
33:40
-G dot K -N -O -T. And fun fact, I made that
33:44
handle because it is kind of a shorthand way
33:47
of saying my last name. If you say my last name
33:49
really fast, it's... Thank you so much, and we'll
33:51
be right back with rapid -fire questions. And
34:00
we're back with rapid -fire questions with Matthew.
34:04
Describe your PMA night in one word. Unreal.
34:11
Incredible. Favorite place to score a cheesesteak.
34:14
Oh. I don't have a place. I also don't believe
34:17
in that. I think the best cheesesteaks I've gotten
34:19
were at random food trucks at random places.
34:22
That's my take. I like it. I like it. If you
34:26
could pick any artist that are alive to produce
34:28
a portrait of you, who would it be? I would say
34:31
Christopher Davison. He is an artist who used
34:37
to teach and work in Philadelphia. He was my
34:41
professor at Drexel for my elective classes.
34:46
He's a really, really great artist. His work
34:48
is informed by a lot of print design. And yeah,
34:52
I've always looked to him as an inspiration,
34:56
so definitely him. Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood?
34:59
Italian market. Nice. Favorite wing of the PMA?
35:03
The Cy Twombly room. Excellent. Everyone check
35:06
out Matthew's art as well as Muse Gallery, and
35:11
we'll see you there. Thanks for tuning in to
35:40
Philly Has Heart, your weekly cultural update.
35:43
Until next time, keep creating, keep connecting,
35:46
and remember, Philly has heart. And art!