Andy Mattern (Stillwater, OK) received his BFA in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and his MFA in Photography from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. His work has been exhibited at the Lawndale Art Center, Houston; Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh; Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe; Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle; and Photographic Centre Peri, Turku, Finland. Mattern has received awards for his work including an Art 365 Grant, an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. His work held in the collections of the Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe; and Photographic Center North West, Seattle. He is represented by Elizabeth Houston Gallery, New York, and is an Assistant Professor of Photography & Digital Media at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
“Shelter is a project visualizing time spent underground in Oklahoma storm cellars. These cool, dim spaces are both havens and tombs, meant to guard against extreme weather, and yet they engender a palpable sense of vulnerability and fear. To capture this duality, the cellar, which itself contains the basic components of a camera—a dark chamber with an opening—is fitted with a dark cloth for a shutter; then, using only the available light that filters in through the air vent, a sheet of light sensitive paper is pressed up against the opening to produce an exposure.”
– Andy Mattern
