Artist Statement
Matt C. Ellis is a professional artist who lives and works in New York. Having studied classical art for many years, Ellis has expressed himself through various paintings, printmaking, woodworking, tattooing, and street art. Ellis consistently strives to push the boundaries of his artwork in every direction.
With each piece, Ellis’ artistry evolved moving from impactful clear statements to more abstract interpretive pieces. Each proposes a question to the viewer. For the artist, it has become an outlet for self-reflection, self-awareness, and sometimes even self-destruction.
Ellis formed Lost Labyrinth to challenge himself by combining his love of woodworking and machinery. He uses layered wood to form seamless intricate designs encouraging the viewer to get lost within its patterns, lost within the labyrinth.
The artist’s earlier work was heavily influenced by the cycle of life, focusing on death. Ellis created a pristine music box with rhyme movement to the tune of “Danny Boy” constructed from Bubinga wood, ebony, brass, glass, and even human femur bone. At first glance, the piece appears simply to be a beautifully crafted music box. Upon further examination, the viewer can see inlays of human bone and a mirror. This piece forces the viewer to confront their own mortality in a society where we live moment to moment ignoring our inevitable demise.
With a true passion to create, Ellis also made a series of powerful large-scale paintings, prints, tattoos, and street art in a series entitled "The Homeless Project." The process spanned over four years, inspired by friendships formed with the local homeless men and women of New York City. Driven by a need to draw attention to society’s dehumanization of these individuals. From large canvases to the scale of an entire building wall, Ellis used broad brush strokes and rollers to create bold portraits. He hand-carved a 48”x 96” woodblock of another homeless individual which he later made into a beautiful black and white print. This piece was later used in a family art project where he, his wife, and two young children took a variety of paints and blasted it with color outlining what details of the piece stood out to them personally. In each portrait, Ellis portrayed the loud personalities of each individual encouraging his viewers to question their own perception of the human condition and modern ideals.
In his free time, Ellis enjoys restoring classic cars with his wife, building projects with his children, playing with his two dogs, and creating artwork with his family.
**Please Note**These are original pieces of artwork created. Each piece is signed, numbered, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
