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Matthew Damian Ritchie Artist Statement Ryuken from Fist of the North Star My work deals many different aspects ranging from identity to my love of anime culture. Since enrolling into college I have been going by my full legal name, which is Matthew Ritchie. Only until recently has this been a problem since learning that there is another more established artist with the same name as I. It was only until recently when talking to someone about this matter, I decide that I need to go by something other then Matthew Ritchie. I needed to blaze my own trail and stop riding others coattails and I need to establish myself as an artist. Originally when talking about this subject I joked about it saying that I was not the real Matthew Ritchie and saying that if I ever met the real one I could settle the debate once and for all on the topic. The problem is I am not the only Matthew Ritchie out there and I probably will never be. The idea is to distance my self from the established Matthew Ritchie because I do not want to be known as the other Matthew Ritchie. My work deals with the understanding of Japanese Culture and its influence on my life. Since I was first exposed to the works of Takashi Murakami, my work has taken on a more playful aspect then it had previously been. Just as Murakami’s Superflat manifesto dealt with the westernization of Japanese culture since the atomic bomb. My work deals with the super futuristic culture that Japan has become since the 1950s. Since I was little I have been bombarded with Japanese culture through the cartoons I have watched The Transformers and Voltron amongst my favorites of the time. Upon growing up I have this manifested itself in to an addiction where I felt compelled to learn more about Japanese animation and the subcultures that came from anime. Cosplay is one of those subcultures that have developed from anime. My interest in cosplay is in the self-gratifying act of taking on a persona of a fictitious character and glorifying them. Right now in my work I am exploring different notions of completion and how every artist arrives at different ideas of what the finish of a piece looks like. Bio Matthew Damian Ritchie is current MFA candidate in Painting and Drawing at Tyler School of Art/Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Matthew has received various awards such as the Virginia Museum Fellowship Award as an undergraduate. He has showed work at the Woodmere Museum, Doran Gallery, Plant Zero, Washington Pavilion of Art and Science, Gallery 5, ADA, and the Anderson Gallery in Richmond, VA. |
 Celestial Event 2008 Acrylic, Oil Enamel, Graphite on Panel 60x48
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