MFA Student Builds New WT Exhibition Brick by Brick

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University graduate art student will explore the very foundations of his medium in an upcoming exhibition.

“The Vessel and the Void,” opening April 2, will feature the work of Matthew Rowe, a graduate student in art from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It will be on view through May 2 in the Dord Fitz Formal Art Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. An opening reception will be held at 5 p.m. April 2 in the gallery.

Rowe said he’s using the exhibition, which is part of his pursuit of a Master of Fine Arts degree, to explore the interplay between material objects and emptiness, primarily through such essential ceramics forms as bricks, vases and bowls.

“People have been working with these forms for thousands of years, so maybe there’s a little bit of hubris to think that I can come up with something new,” Rowe laughed. “So for me, it’s not about reinventing the wheel with new ideas. What I’m hoping to do is to move the artform forward through examining its own history.”

Rowe chose to pursue his MFA at WT after meeting Jon Revett, head of WT’s Department of Art, Theatre and Dance in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, and Dr. Amy Von Lintel, professor of art history, through his work at his parents’ Addison Rowe Gallery in Santa Fe.

“I had hit a roadblock in building my own ceramics studio in Santa Fe, and I got some good advice to spend time focusing on my work,” Rowe said. “Coming to WT was the first time that an academic institution made me feel welcome into a space.”

He’s so ingrained in the Panhandle now that his work even includes a wood ash glaze that incorporates ashes swept up from Spicy Mike’s Bar-B-Q Haven in Amarillo.

“Matthew’s exhibition exemplifies a sophisticated engagement with material and conceptual inquiry,” said Misty Gamble, Rowe’s adviser and WT’ Steven Mayes Professor of Visual Arts.” “The work situates ceramic practice within broader dialogues of installation, modularity and architectural form, demonstrating a critical sensitivity to spatial relationships and the phenomenology of structure. What emerges is a practice that is deeply reflective and methodologically rigorous.”

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign, which is now winding down, has raised more than $175 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: “The Vessel and the Void,” an exhibition by Matthew Rowe, a graduate student in art from Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be open April 2 through May 2 in the Dord Fitz Formal Art Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall.

—WT—