Bio:
Matthew McHugh is from Fort Collins, Colorado. He earned a BFA in drawing from Colorado State University in 2016 and an MFA in drawing, painting, and printmaking from Purdue University in 2021. Matthew currently resides in Colorado and is living out his passion for teaching and art as an instructor at the University of Northern Colorado. He regularly shows in nationally and internationally juried exhibitions and is an active member of the Society of American Graphic Artists.
Artist Statement:
In his recent work, McHugh invites Paleolithic cave art into contemporary contexts to reflect on the contrast between the vastness of time and the transience of individual human life. Paleolithic art is impenetrably ancient, yet it continues to inform our current experiences. Humanity as we know it would not exist without the foundational contributions of the earliest people. In that sense, cave art constantly overshadows the present and prompts us to ask what our place is within the larger story of humanity.
Self-contextualization is a shared human experience. Although we all encounter it differently, everyone faces the question of how they fit into their larger world. Time, mortality, and the construction of self-narratives are common experiences. Matthew finds it important to engage with these topics as questions rather than answers. By visualizing his own explorations of self-contextualization, he makes them tangible to others and encourages human connection, curiosity, and self-reflection.
Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) member page: