Penn State Altoona offers works of Matthew Boonstra

Thursday, December 20, 2012 - 160 hits

ALTOONA — An exhibition of work by Matthew Boonstra will be on display in the Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts January 10 - March 3, 2013. A reception will be held from 3 -5 p.m., Thursday, January 10, 2013, in the Titelman Study of the Misciagna Center.

Boonstra received his B.F.A. from Eastern Michigan University and M.F.A. from Michigan State University. At MSU, Boonstra received many honors including the 2009 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center. This award included recognition in Sculpture Magazine and inclusion to a traveling exhibition at major galleries across the nation. Boonstra’s creative work has been exhibited nationally including at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio, TX, Grounds for Scuplture, Hamilton, NJ, Salt Lake Art Center, UT, and Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI. Boonstra is currently a visiting assistant professor of sculpture at Oklahoma State University.

Boonstra states, “My work is an investigation into how socioeconomic circumstances impact our natural environment. Economic decline has provided a potential spark to transform our relationship with industry in a sustainable manner. I am interested in created work that documents this transformation. Ideas for my artwork are developed from research I have collected from interviewing generations of industrial workers, tours of factories, and visits to industrial wastelands. My observations of the changing relationship between people, industry, and environment are then refocused and juxtaposed in order to motivate social change. For example, my recent work, “Have You Tried Walking?”, captures the transformation of a human figure into a gasoline funnel and signifies our dizzying physical and psychological relationship with oil.”

The galleries are open Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and before and during all performances. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.