The themes of my work draw from my lifelong interest in the human’s response – both psychological and physical – to what has happened or is about to happen. My ongoing attempt to capture this in my etchings and drawings is what I call Humanography, a series of explorations of the mood and state of mind. My intention with Humanography is not to portray people but rather to deploy them as essential props in a refocus on the imaginary or everyday personas; the given or chosen roles. I usually recruit either people from my close environment willing to interpret the story, or myself, to create characters that I storyboard, stage and depict. Literature, cinema and the performing arts are my perpetual inspiration, and my characters are sometimes presented as artists themselves. My ultimate objective is to capture what I consider essential: the expression that draws attention to the human condition, and the inner rhythm that holds together the chaotic elements that make up the human.
My prints are my drawings. I create my drawings on transparent media with charcoal, pencil, or marker. When they are completed to their finest detail, I etch them directly onto Solarplates using this more recent (1970’s) non-toxic printmaking technique. With this approach, the artwork is etched onto a water-and-light-sensitive polymer plate by exposure to the sun or other ultra-violet light source, transporting the lights and darks of the artwork to the plate as light passes through the drawing. Gently washing in tap water completes the process. In short, I directly etch my drawings onto plates using sunlight and water instead of the traditional acid and ground. In this way I create etchings in small editions, pulling the prints by hand from the inked plate as with other intaglio processes such as drypoint, another technique I use. In my prints I’m trying to preserve traditional drawing qualities: the fine flowing pencil line, the tense nature or velvety gradation of charcoal, and the liquid properties of watercolor media. My editions are usually varied, allowing further exploration of the subject, and for the same reason they often evolve into series.
Artist Biography
Matina Marki Tillman is a born and raised Greek, currently living in Connecticut. Her culture combined with her university background in Greek Medieval and Modern Literature and Poetry (B.A., University of Ioannina) has been a constant source of inspiration for her lifelong interest in drawing the human. After moving to the United States, she had the opportunity to broaden her exposure to visual arts through college fine art classes, independent studies, and workshops including figure drawing, computer animation, and illustration. These ultimately guided her to printmaking, where her drawing background plays a strong role in the creation of the print matrix.
Matina’s work, including the December 2015 solo exhibition Humanography at the Washington Printmakers Gallery, has been reviewed in The Washington Post and recommended in She Writes Press. She had the most prints represented at the University of Wisconsin Parkside 20th National Small Print Exhibition in 2007, and her prints exhibited at the 2014 and 2016 Hudson Valley Art Association National Exhibitions in New York City were recognized with awards for excellence in graphics. Most recently, she was the first place prize winner at the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) 2017 National Small Works Exhibition. Matina has been a member of the Washington Printmakers Gallery in Washington, DC since 2010, and has been elected to the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Hudson Valley Art Association, and the National Association of Women Artists.
Awards & Honors
2017 First Place Prize, National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) National Small Works Exhibition, NAWA Gallery, New York, NY
2016 Al Camurati Memorial Award for Excellence in Graphics, Hudson Valley Art Association 83rd Annual Exhibition, Salmagundi Club Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Perry Alley Memorial Award for Excellence in Graphics, Hudson Valley Art Association 82nd Annual Exhibition, Salmagundi Club Gallery, New York, NY
2007 Most prints represented, University of Wisconsin Parkside 20th National Small Print Exhibition, Kenosha, WI
Honorable Mention, Manchester Community College 2007 State of Connecticut Art Competition and Exhibition, Manchester, CT
Education
1989 University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece BA (MA, World Education Services US equivalent), Greek Medieval and Modern Literature and Poetry
Continuing Education
2007 Richard Harden Figure Drawing Workshops, Collinsville, CT
2002-2007 Visual Fine Arts course work and independent studies, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT
1998-2001 Graphic Design (Computer Graphics) & Visual Fine Arts course work and independent studies, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT
Bibliography
Jenkins, Mark "In the Galleries," Washington Post, December 18, 2015
Doallas, Maureen "All Art Friday" Writing Without Paper, She Writes Press, July 19, 2013
Affiliation
2017-present National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY
2016-present Hudson Valley Art Association, New York
Atlanta Print Biennial, Kai Lin Gallery, Atlanta, GA Juror: Sydney Cross, Clemson University Distinguished Alumni Professor of Art, Clemson, SC
Black and White, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY Juror: Alison Hokanson, Assistant Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
National Association of Women Artists Winter Small Works, NAWA Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 101st Annual Exhibition, Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT Juror: Patricia Hickson, Curator of Contemporary Art, Wadsworth Antheneum Museum, Hartford CT [catalog]
National Exhibition, Academy Center of the Arts, Lynchburg, VA
Pushing Process, Gallery Walk, Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC
Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 100th Annual Exhibition, Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT Jurors: Joy Pepe, Professor Emeritus Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT; Anne von Stuelpnagel, Director of Exhibitions, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT [catalog]
2010 Six-Person Exhibition, New Faces, New Prints, Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington, DC
2009 22nd National Small Print Exhibition, University of Wisconsin Parkside Kenosha, WI Juror: Doug DeVinney, Professor of Art and Gallery Director, University of Wisconsin Parkside [catalog]
2008 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 97th Annual Exhibition, Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT [catalog]
2007 20th National Small Print Exhibition, University of Wisconsin Parkside, Kenosha, WI Juror: Yuji Hiratsuka, Professor of Art, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR [catalog]
Center for Contemporary Printmaking 6th Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition, Norwalk, CT Juror: David Kiehl, Curator of Prints, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY
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