Cover | Matt Rogers
Hummingbird River (oil on canvas). California artist Matt Rogers synthesizes Pop art with classic Western painting, depicting timeless subjects in a wholly original and contemporary style marked by bold colors, energetic gestures, and unexpected compositions. Rogers counts California landscape painters Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, and David Park as influences, and above all, renowned painter Wayne Thiebaud, whom he considers a hero and mentor. In Rogers’ work, one senses the artist’s deep understanding of California’s complicated, dark, bright beauty. As a lifelong resident, he knows firsthand that California’s landscape is as precarious as it is idyllic—prone to devastation from earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. It is a place where utopia coexists with dystopia, and beach culture rubs shoulders with counterculture, a paradox infusing much of his work. Born in Oakland, Rogers studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and lives and works in St. Helena. He has shown his paintings in solo and group exhibitions in California and beyond. His exhibition Recent Paintings will be on view Dec. 9 through Jan. 5, 2017, at Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Union Square, San Francisco, 415-392-2299, www.CaldwellSnyder.com. Meet Rogers at the gallery at an artist reception 6-8 p.m. on Dec. 9. See more of his work at www.MattRogersArt.com.
COMING SOON: Paul Kilduff gets into cuddling with professional cuddlist Nikki Huiras for the Kilduff File, Ethan Fletcher rounds up Asian street eats, The Monthly presents the winners of the winter essay contest, and Faro is back from Africa. Meanwhile, there’s more from lefty Reese Erlich, and the critics weigh in on what not to miss.
