April Matisz
Artist statement
My studio practice is rooted in human relationships with the environment. I explore many faucets of this relationship, such as personal and collective concepts of nature; the ways in which nature is disinterested in the human condition; and the cognitive biases and psychology of humans and how it relates to the Anthropocene. Through much of my work I imagine potential worlds that are life-affirming and more knowledgably entangled with ecosystems. I am interested in physical forces that have shaped our world, from the geological to the evolutionary, as well as the phenomenological ways in which we exist and understand ourselves. With my background in the sciences, I respond to the knowledge science has brought us, while also engaging with the poetic knowledge that the arts provide. Both kinds of knowledge are valid and complementary, and I make this apparent in my practice.
Painting and drawing are central to my practice. I have also employed printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, installation, and sound works to explore certain ideas. My working method involves thinking through materials. The mark-making I employ and visual imagery I develop emerges as a conversation between myself and the materials. This dialogue is informed by the way particular colours, forms, and compositions affect my thinking, as well as information that I have gathered and brought into the conversation. From texts and podcasts to social media imagery and walks, the information I seek out and come across daily becomes a secondary type of material that is considered, questioned, and manipulated in my artistic process.
CV
Education
2023 MFA Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, British Columbia
2009 B.F.A with great distinction (Art), University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta
2005 B. Sc. with distinction (Biology), University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Selected Solo/Two Person Exhibitions
2026 (Upcoming), Main gallery at CASA, Lethbridge, AB
2024 Biophilia, Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2023 Gathering near and far, still, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2022 The Gatherers: stories of entangled travels, The Vault, Art Gallery of St. Albert, AB
2018 Mommy Mama Mother Mom (two-person), Main gallery at CASA, Lethbridge, AB
2016 Ecoscapes: envisioning science and ecology, Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2014 Ecoscapes: envisioning science and ecology, Obra Galería Alegria, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2013 Ecoscapes: envisioning science and ecology, Galería de Arte del Departamento de Humanidades, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
2010 Cityscapes: Dissolution / Reformation, West Gallery, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Selected Group and Other Exhibitions
2024 Studio Strata, Faculty and Staff Art Exhibition, Dr. Foster James Penny Bldg
2023 A Distant Presence, MFA Low Residency Thesis Exhibition, ECUAD
2022 In Situ, Passage Gallery in CASA, Lethbridge, Alberta
2022 Downtown Lens: Window Painting Gallery, AAC, Lethbridge Alberta
2021 Art Days Allied Arts Council popUP Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
2021 Downtown Lens: Window Painting Gallery, AAC, Lethbridge Alberta
2020 The Gatherers, CASA Gallery project space, Lethbridge, Alberta
2020 Art Days Allied Arts Council popup Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
2020 Downtown Lens: Window Painting Gallery, AAC, Lethbridge Alberta
2019 Scintillations: A Group Exhibition, Joan Waterfield Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
2019 Cultivating Creativity, CASA Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
2018 Intimacy, part of 3rd Annual Flip Fest, Dr. Foster James Penny Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2017 Cabinet of Queeriosities IV, CASA Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
2015 Loose Leaves, SOAR: Emerging Arts Festival, CASA Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2014 Añoranza (curated by Prof. Matthew Landers), Marquesa, Santurce, Puerto Rico
2011 Mapping a Prairie City: Lethbridge and its Suburbs, SAAG, Lethbridge, AB
2009 Triangulations, Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2009 Drawing on the Imagination, Waterfield Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2009 Planet Earth, Leighton Centre, Calgary, AB; The Works Festival, Edmonton, AB
Grants, Awards, and Publications
2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Lethbridge
2024 Emilly Carr University of Art and Design Mackenzie Award in Painting
2023 Feature artist for Southern Alberta Art Gallery’s annual fundraising auction
2022 Cover illustration for Nature Machine Intelligence, vol 4:1 https://www.nature.com/natmachintell/volumes/4/issues/1
2022 President’s Research Grant, Emily Carr University of Art + Design
2021 Bodies Birthing Bodies series purchased by AFA under Art Acquisitions by Application Program
2020 AFA Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Grant
2020 Shortlisted for Mother Art Prize 2020
2019 Work Featured in Mom Egg Review vol. 17, April 2019
2019 Work Featured on cover for a|b: Auto|Biography Studies, v34, n31, May
2017 AFA Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Grant
2009 RCA/C.D. Howe Scholarship for Art and Design, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
2009 University of Lethbridge Art Gallery Award
Professional Activities/Development
Sessional Instructor, University of Lethbridge, January-Present
Community Engagement:
-Helped develop and present art workshops for elementary school teachers, 2024-present
-Designed and led several art classes for students at elementary schools from 2019-present in Lethbridge, AB
-Led a collage workshop for Chinook High School art students, March 2024 in Lethbridge, AB
-Panelist for How to Make A Mural, organized by Lethbridge Allied Arts Council, April 2024
-Panelist for Arts in Real Life Day, Chinook High School, March 2024, Lethbridge AB
-Conducted art demonstration at Allied Arts Council, Feb 2024, Lethbridge, AB
-Led collage workshop at Southern Alberta Art Gallery, May 2023, Lethbridge AB
• Worked with Galt Museum and Archives to produce interior mural accompanying “Rooted: How Trees Give Us Life” exhibition, Lethbridge, AB, 2022
• Awarded city funded mural contract to produce external mural, Dreaming of Future Ecologies, in downtown, Lethbridge, AB, 2021
• House portrait painter for Atkinson Realty (300+ paintings), 2019-Present
• Committee Member for Public Art Committee, Sept 2016-Dec 2020, Lethbridge, AB
• Guest Speaker:
-General Art Practice Talk, Feb 2024, Northwestern Polytechnique, Grande Prairie, AB
-Through Painting, Navigating Nature; Oct 2023, ArtNOW, University of Lethbridge, AB
-Seven Wonderers of Beakerhead; Sept 2018, National Music Center, Calgary, AB
-Mommy Mama Mother Mom; Sept 2018, ArtNOW, University of Lethbridge, AB
-Landscapes and Motherhood; Trap/door Artist Run Center, Oct 2017, CASA, Lethbridge, AB
-Ecoscapes: Envisioning Science and Ecology; Feb 2016; ArtNOW, University of Lethbridge, AB
-Ecoscapes: Envisioning Science and Ecology; Dec 2013, Dept. de Arte, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Intern: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Sept-Nov 2009, Wash. D.C.
Researched works within the Renwick Gallery’s collection, wrote didactic statements, and curated display cases. I participated in workshops, tours and conferences that taught me theory and practical skills for research and curating