Matt Rogers
California artist Matt Rogers, known for his rhythmic and colorful paintings, offers layered, vibrant landscapes and prismatic florals in his latest work. Flower petals spill profusely across the frame or organize into balloon-shaped bouquets, while aerial views of cities and farmland seem to float by, patterned with rooftops, trees, and clouds. On one hand the images in this series are blissful, evoking romance, adventure, and candy-coated memories. On the other, with heightened patterns, forms, and colors, they suggest a splendor that is slightly beyond reach.
Like Wayne Thiebaud, who was his friend and mentor, Rogers is exquisitely attuned both to the structures and attitudes of nature and the warping, transformative effects of paint. Fusing his outer and inner visions, he creates subtly surreal images that both enhance and disrupt conceptions of beauty and natural order. He has noted the importance of music to his practice, and the influence comes through strongly in this body of work, with repeating colors and shapes employed like beats and melodies.
A lifelong California resident who is intimately familiar with the region’s many facets and moods, its varied geography, its patterns of weather, Rogers was born in Oakland and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. He lives and works in St. Helena, and has shown his paintings throughout California and beyond.
Biography
California-based 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. A love of nature and an adventurous spirit infuses Rogers’ work: his well-known “Dark Horse” series is comprised of highly graphic, monochromatic paintings of horses and riders, or abstracted images of racing hooves, while a recent series of tree paintings draws from his lifelong passion for skiing and a climbing expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro. Verging on abstraction, the new paintings capture the essence of their subject with icy palettes and vertiginous perspectives.
Rogers counts California landscape painters Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, and David Park as influences, and above all, renowned painter Wayne Theibaud, whom he considers a hero and mentor. From Theibaud, he learned to continually ask questions of his work and to weigh each painting’s entrances and exits, the mechanics of the picture, and the temperature and volume of its colors. He has noted, as well, the importance of music as inspiration: many of his paintings contain musical rhythms, while his well-known horse paintings begin as “a big physical exercise, with big brushstrokes to capture the drumbeat of the animal.”
In Rogers’ work, we can sense 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 in the form of earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. It is a place where utopia coexists with dystopia, and beach culture rubs shoulders with counterculture--a paradox that infuses much of his unique work.
Born in Oakland, Rogers studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and lives and works in St. Helena, California. He has shown his paintings in solo and group exhibitions in California and beyond.
Born
1968 California
Education
1993 San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 Caldwell Snyder, San Francisco, CA
2023 Caldwell Snyder, St. Helena, CA
2019 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2016 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2013 St. Supery Estate and Vineyards & Winery, Rutherford, CA.
2012 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2019 Art Palm Springs, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Palm Springs, CA
Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery
SCOPE Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery
2018 35th Aniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
California Dreamin’: Melissa Chandon & Matt Rogers, Napa Valley Museum Yountville, Yountville, CA
2017 10 Year Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.
2016 Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2015 Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.
Silicon Valley Contemporary, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Jose, CA.
2013 Vanishing Point, Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
Vanishing Point, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2012 Seriously..., Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
Seriously..., I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Outside, Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2011 Equitation, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Napa Valley Art Museum, Yountville, CA.
Lexington Cancer Foundation, Lexington, KY.
2010 Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA.
I. Wolk Gallry, St. Helena, CA.
Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
2009 Susan Street Fine Art, Solana Beach, CA.
Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
2008 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2006 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Press
PRESS
Selected Artworks
Born
1968 California
Education
1993 San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 Caldwell Snyder, San Francisco, CA
2023 Caldwell Snyder, St. Helena, CA
2019 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2016 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2013 St. Supery Estate and Vineyards & Winery, Rutherford, CA.
2012 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2019 Art Palm Springs, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Palm Springs, CA
Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery
SCOPE Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery
2018 35th Aniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
California Dreamin’: Melissa Chandon & Matt Rogers, Napa Valley Museum Yountville, Yountville, CA
2017 10 Year Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.
2016 Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2015 Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.
Silicon Valley Contemporary, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Jose, CA.
2013 Vanishing Point, Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
Vanishing Point, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2012 Seriously..., Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
Seriously..., I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Outside, Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2011 Equitation, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Napa Valley Art Museum, Yountville, CA.
Lexington Cancer Foundation, Lexington, KY.
2010 Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA.
I. Wolk Gallry, St. Helena, CA.
Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
2009 Susan Street Fine Art, Solana Beach, CA.
Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA.
2008 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2006 Paul Thiebuad Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
California-based 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. A love of nature and an adventurous spirit infuses Rogers’ work: his well-known “Dark Horse” series is comprised of highly graphic, monochromatic paintings of horses and riders, or abstracted images of racing hooves, while a recent series of tree paintings draws from his lifelong passion for skiing and a climbing expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro. Verging on abstraction, the new paintings capture the essence of their subject with icy palettes and vertiginous perspectives.
Rogers counts California landscape painters Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, and David Park as influences, and above all, renowned painter Wayne Theibaud, whom he considers a hero and mentor. From Theibaud, he learned to continually ask questions of his work and to weigh each painting’s entrances and exits, the mechanics of the picture, and the temperature and volume of its colors. He has noted, as well, the importance of music as inspiration: many of his paintings contain musical rhythms, while his well-known horse paintings begin as “a big physical exercise, with big brushstrokes to capture the drumbeat of the animal.”
In Rogers’ work, we can sense 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 in the form of earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. It is a place where utopia coexists with dystopia, and beach culture rubs shoulders with counterculture--a paradox that infuses much of his unique work.
Born in Oakland, Rogers studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and lives and works in St. Helena, California. He has shown his paintings in solo and group exhibitions in California and beyond.
Biography
Press
California artist Matt Rogers, known for his rhythmic and colorful paintings, offers layered, vibrant landscapes and prismatic florals in his latest work. Flower petals spill profusely across the frame or organize into balloon-shaped bouquets, while aerial views of cities and farmland seem to float by, patterned with rooftops, trees, and clouds. On one hand the images in this series are blissful, evoking romance, adventure, and candy-coated memories. On the other, with heightened patterns, forms, and colors, they suggest a splendor that is slightly beyond reach.
Like Wayne Thiebaud, who was his friend and mentor, Rogers is exquisitely attuned both to the structures and attitudes of nature and the warping, transformative effects of paint. Fusing his outer and inner visions, he creates subtly surreal images that both enhance and disrupt conceptions of beauty and natural order. He has noted the importance of music to his practice, and the influence comes through strongly in this body of work, with repeating colors and shapes employed like beats and melodies.
A lifelong California resident who is intimately familiar with the region’s many facets and moods, its varied geography, its patterns of weather, Rogers was born in Oakland and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. He lives and works in St. Helena, and has shown his paintings throughout California and beyond.
Matt Rogers
Rogers has lived in California his entire life. He is aware of its precariousness, that it represents the California dream — sunsets and palm trees — but also devastation. The California landscape is subject to earthquakes, fires, and mudslides, which Rogers has experienced firsthand. In California, sunshine and noir are always two sides of the same coin. Utopia coexists with dystopia, and beach culture rubs shoulders with counterculture—a paradox that infuses many of Rogers’ paintings. In his work, we can sense his deep understanding of California’s complicated, dark, bright, beauty.
California artist Matt Rogers, known for his rhythmic and colorful paintings, offers layered, vibrant landscapes and prismatic florals in his latest work. Flower petals spill profusely across the frame or organize into balloon-shaped bouquets, while aerial views of cities and farmland seem to float by, patterned with rooftops, trees, and clouds. On one hand the images in this series are blissful, evoking romance, adventure, and candy-coated memories. On the other, with heightened patterns, forms, and colors, they suggest a splendor that is slightly beyond reach.
Like Wayne Thiebaud, who was his friend and mentor, Rogers is exquisitely attuned both to the structures and attitudes of nature and the warping, transformative effects of paint. Fusing his outer and inner visions, he creates subtly surreal images that both enhance and disrupt conceptions of beauty and natural order. He has noted the importance of music to his practice, and the influence comes through strongly in this body of work, with repeating colors and shapes employed like beats and melodies.
A lifelong California resident who is intimately familiar with the region’s many facets and moods, its varied geography, its patterns of weather, Rogers was born in Oakland and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. He lives and works in St. Helena, and has shown his paintings throughout California and beyond.