Matthew Steele (http://www.mtsteele.com/) is a creative professional and artist who has been an active member of Charlotte’s cultural sector since 2012. In 2018, he joined the UNC Charlotte gallery team and took the lead on implementing technology, new media, fabrication, and graphic design in the gallery spaces. Prior to this role, he served as Creative Services Manager at the McColl Center, where he ran the media lab and assisted artists with technology and fabrication needs while creating marketing collateral for the organization.
As an artist, Matt is interested in how technologies of the self are often reflected in the physical technologies that we produce. He was an artist-in-residence at McColl Center (2012) and Goodyear Arts (2015) where he continues to be a member of the Collective. He has exhibited his work in various galleries and museums including Lotus Projects (Miami, FL), the Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC), and The Sculpture Center (Cleveland, OH). His work can be found in private and public collections nationally and internationally including AXA, Marriott, Honeywell, TIAA, Truist, Credit Karma, and Art in Embassies. (He also designed the logo for the SoA’s 50th anniversary celebration last year.)
In 2022, Matt was selected to create public art as part of the City of Charlotte-funded J.W. Clay Boulevard Streetscape project in the University City area and was profiled in Art of the State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, written by Liza Roberts. He earned his BFA in sculpture from Indiana University and is represented by Hodges Taylor gallery.
Mt. Mitchell (2022): This piece was designed to connect to the client's design framework which recognizes a North Carolina geographical feature. To capture the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western NC, I pulled topographical data of the Mt. Mitchell region from the NASA geographical database to create the form.
The installation "High Beams" (2023) by Matthew Steele with fabricational support by Alex Cabral and the UNC Charlotte FabLab is a temporary public art project commissioned by Charlotte Center City Partners for the Charlotte Rail Trail Lights, an outdoor, light-based exhibition. It was placed on the Rail Trail near Atherton Mill in Charlotte, North Carolina; an area with high pedestrian traffic. The concept for this piece started with the location in which it would be living. People would be passing by it, not necessarily expecting to be exposed to art, but regardless, being confronted by it.
Turbine (2021): Commissioned by Honeywell for their Charlotte Headquarters. These low relief panels (three overall) were designed to function as a line drawing while utilizing industrial technology. The resulting piece was fabricated by etching into sheets of painted acrylic using a CNC router.
