Matt Hope

Matt's first solo show at Ace Gallery in Los Angeles, featured sketches, drawings and a set of 10 Towers made of parts bought from the now defunct, Sun Dragon Hardare market in the outskirts of Beijing.[10]

The Towers series consists of ten sculptures built from Chinese-made hardware: switches, motors, and structural elements. These skeletal frames serve as chassis to which components are attached that perform a variety of bizarre functions, kinetic, sonic, or other.[11]

The Los Angeles Times described the Towers:

Each is a sturdy jumble of rods and plates, plastic zip-ties, solar panels, battery packs, timers, audio and electrical components, standing human-height and higher. Most rotate, buzz, pop or make a frightful clatter as they do their ostensible jobs: converting light, heat, sound or one form of power into another.[12]

"Breath" is bike built by Hope that combines various found objects, including an electromechanical filtration system, that filters air while pedalling. Although technically operable, it is more of an artistic and theoretical response,[13] rather than practical solution, to Beijing's pollution problem.[14][15][16] "Breath" was exhibited in 2012 at Get It Louder, a contemporary art biennial in China. It is regularly mentioned in International news in connection with China's Pollution Crisis[17] and was the inspiration behind Ofo's Smog Free Bicycle.[18]

Matt made a large sculpture of a steel I-beam with sections machined out of the beam to the point where it became weak in the middle. This 2016 piece was part of the group show at Long March Space in 798 in Beijing.[1]

In this 2018 June solo show Matt took over the Galerie XC Hua and replaced two columns, building supports that support the second building, with his own steel construction forever altering the space. The show also featured several pieces including Blind Infinity and Closed Loop and Noise Section.[19]

More recently, Matt has been making hyper detailed pen and ink sketches as part of his day. [20]