William Mathie
BIO
William Mathie earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He has taught at Edinboro University since 1995 and is currently a tenured Professor. Along with teaching, he has served as the Bruce Gallery Director and the Chair of the Art Department at different times. His artwork has been exhibited and has won awards regionally and nationally. He has studied Mokuhanga printmaking in Japan with Kenji Takenaka in 2008 and 2011. He is also the current Director of Egress Press and Research, a fine art publishing component of the printmaking program at Edinboro University and he operates a private studio in Edinboro.
STATEMENT
I hope that aspects of my work will seem familiar to the viewer and that they will construct narratives that relate to the texture of experiences in their life. Most recently I have been creating images that investigate evil. I am intrigued with whether evil is situational or something else. If evil is situational the responsibility for evil rests partly with everyone involved in creating an environment that allows an evil act to seem justifiable. And yet an individual can always rise above a situation and step away from an evil act.
I am thoroughly intrigued by the inexhaustible image-making possibilities printmaking offers. The rich variety of marks, and gritty aesthetic of intaglio, and the graphic nature of relief keep me inspired to create. I also enjoy the generous nature of the printmaking community that is quick to share techniques and approaches to image making. I am constantly excited by work created by other printmakers, mostly my contemporaries, but also a whole line of printmakers from Durer and Hokusai forward.
See more of William’s work here