Photo: Courtesy of Andy Warhol Museum
Matt Gondek
Pittsburgh blue-collar work ethic after moving to Los Angeles – It’s probably too much for his own benefit.
“I have a lot of blue-collar work ethics, where I feel like I have to grind, grind, grind. Pittsburgh City Paper. “And I spent a lot of time being clean, and now I have spent a lot of time realizing that I just wanted to be happy at this point, spending time for myself and rediscovering who I am.
The self-proclaimed “Deconstructive Pop Artist” is taking a break next year or so, not before he made a splash as the subject in the first episode of the documentary series produced by Andy Warhol Museum. He confirmed again City Paper That he has a video game project in his work.
Gondek, 42, has been attracting the attention of people in the arts world over his nearly 20-year career. He has garnered 287,000 followers on Instagram, and his artwork has been featured worldwide in solo and group exhibits from Pittsburgh and around the world, including in LA, Detroit, Hong Kong and Paris.
The artwork, defined by saturated colors and harsh black lines, often portrays pop culture characters in nuisance light. Mickey Mouse stabs one of his friends, Homer Simpson’s head blows away to reveal his skull, and Bowser punches Mario’s eyeball from the head.
“People lose themselves to these brands. They have made these brands express their personality. And I’m trying to destroy these icons because you need to get back who you are,” says Gondek. “To me, it’s very important to cultivate myself, who I am and what I have done in my life. I don’t think a lot of people are doing that anymore.”
Michael Petrera of Warhol Creative, dubbed the museum’s “boutique production studio,” directed the documentary short film. Life, Arts, Legacy: Matt Gondek. Tickets for the two evening screenings at the museum on April 4th were sold out.
The film includes footage of Gondek returning to his LA studio and his home in Pittsburgh. There he shows the crew that he painted the mural. The transition between specific shots includes animations inspired by Gondek’s style.
“I think we shot with him for three days, so I’m very pleased that he was so generous with his time. CP. “But he is very generous with his time and I love him for that.”
Several other interview subjects line up in future episodes. According to Petrella, Warhol Creative hopes the streaming platform will feature the documentary.
Although no footage and screenshots have been released yet, Gondek is currently working with Retrotainment, a Pittsburgh-based game developer on video games.
“These little ducks are going around. In this game, the ducks become a very popular IP. The SimpsonsWarner Bros., and you beat the shit out of the characters.
This video game represents the full safety moment of Gondek. As a child, Gondek drew video game levels in addition to portraits and cartoons of other cartoon characters he loved. “What I’m doing now is something I’ve done forever,” says Gondek.
In the afternoon, before the two screenings, Gondeku looked cool like a cucumber, not overflowing with nervousness or excitement. His naturally emotionally neutral nature can prove to be uncomfortable for some, and Gondek says that some friends assumed he hated them first.
“It’s just my voice and my personality,” says Gondek. “Most people think that when someone doesn’t like them, they do a little hard with that person, so it actually works very well.
At the Late Show, he rang a large cardboard box onto a stage filled with stuffed ducks he had made and threw it into the crowd. He swayed humorously between active and sincere performance when answering the audience’s questions.
While he taps the brakes a bit, it excites Gundek where he is now and that he will include his hometown of Pittsburgh as part of what he goes.
“This museum has always been very big for me. The fact that my name is near Warhol’s name has always been really amazing,” says Gondek.
