Amanda Matthews
Amanda Matthews | |
---|---|
![]() Amanda Matthews in studio | |
Born | September 1, 1968 |
Education | University of Louisville |
Occupation | Sculptor, painter, CEO of Prometheus Foundry |
Spouse(s) | Robert (Brad) Connell |
Children | 2 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis_at_Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis_at_Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis_at_Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport_for_unveiling_of_%E2%80%9CJohn_Lewis_%E2%80%93_Good_Trouble%E2%80%9D.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_with_Congressman_John_Lewis_at_Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport_for_unveiling_of_%E2%80%9CJohn_Lewis_%E2%80%93_Good_Trouble%E2%80%9D.jpg)
![Amanda Matthews at the NAWBO Kentucky Chapter 2018 Awards at a podium accepting Strive Business Owner of the Year Award, mid-speech.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Amanda_Matthews_accepting_NAWBO_award_2018.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_accepting_NAWBO_award_2018.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Amanda_Matthews_on_panel_with_Sonya_Ross_and_Carol_McCabe_Booker_at_Newseum%2C_Washington_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Allison_Dunnigan_statue.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_on_panel_with_Sonya_Ross_and_Carol_McCabe_Booker_at_Newseum%2C_Washington_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Allison_Dunnigan_statue.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Amanda_Matthews_with_Sonya_Ross_and_Carol_McCabe_Booker_at_Newseum%2C_Washington_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Allison_Dunnigan_statue.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_with_Sonya_Ross_and_Carol_McCabe_Booker_at_Newseum%2C_Washington_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Allison_Dunnigan_statue.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Amanda_Matthews_with_Roland_Martin_at_Newseum%2C_Washington%2C_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Dunnigan_statue.jpg/220px-Amanda_Matthews_with_Roland_Martin_at_Newseum%2C_Washington%2C_DC_for_unveiling_of_Alice_Dunnigan_statue.jpg)
Amanda Matthews (born 1968) is an American sculptor and painter from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
Early life, Education, and Family[]
Amanda Matthews was born in 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky to James (Jim) Matthews III and Brenda Matthews. She attended Bullitt East High School in Mt. Washington, Kentucky and graduated in 1986. Matthews earned her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. She studied abroad in Paris, France in 1989 with the University of Louisville, studying Fine Art and Architecture while abroad.
Career[]
Matthews is known for her award-winning work that honors women and celebrates diversity and inclusion. In 2019, she was selected to create a monumental sculptural installation titled, "The Girl Puzzle", in New York City on Roosevelt Island honoring investigative reporter Nellie Bly, which was planned to be unveiled in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, will be completed and unveiled in 2021.[1] Also to be unveiled in 2021 will be a sculpture of education pioneer and Kentuckian, Nettie Depp in the Kentucky State Capitol rotunda.[2]
On November 14, 2021 at Kentucky's COVID-19 Memorial Ceremony to mourn the over 10,000 Kentuckians who lost their life to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was announced that Matthews design proposal "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" (based on the Kentucky State Motto)[3] was chosen for the permanent Team KY COVID-19 Memorial Monument.[4][5][6]
In 2018, her work honoring Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American female to receive White House and Congressional credentials, was unveiled at the Newseum in Washington, D.C..[7] The statue of Alice Dunnigan traveled extensively [8] and was featured for programming at KY State University, University of Kentucky, and the Truman Presidential Library.[9] The bronze sculpture of Alice Dunnigan now permanently stands at the SEEK Museum in Russellville, KY, which was added to the United States civil rights trail in 2020.[10]
Matthews began her career as a painter and faculty member for the Louisville Visual Arts Association. She founded Wild Honeysuckle Studio in 1998,[11] which merged with Prometheus Bronze Foundry, LLC in 2009.[citation needed]
Matthews received her first grant as part of the Sister Cities International program and travelled to Mainz, Germany in 2006 to represent the City of Louisville, Kentucky and the United States during the tenure of Mayor Jerry Abramson. She participated in the Kunst in der Stadt, Kuenstlerarbeiten Public Exhibition at Gutenbergplatz, Mainz, Germany. Fourteen artists, two artists each from seven countries, were selected to participate. Her work while in Mainz was a permanent gift to the City of Mainz, Germany from the City of Louisville, KY.[citation needed] Later that year, she participated in the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Appalachian Mountain Witness Tour for Artists and Writers in the fall of 2006,[12] which marked the beginning of her decade-long body of large scale bronze Dryads, titled Messengers.[13] In 2007, on Earth Day, she completed a 210' long Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, called Water is Life for the Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, with the help of 20 volunteers. Diane Heilenman, Visual Arts Critic for the Courier Journal stated, "The work, 'Water is Life,' fits the context of all her sculptures and paintings, which are often about environmental issues."[14]
In 2015, she founded the Artemis Initiative, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity.[citation needed]
Selected public works and collections[]
- 2019-2021: Monumental Sculptural Installation honoring Investigative Journalist, Nellie Bly, New York City, Roosevelt Island, titled "The Girl Puzzle" at Lighthouse Park,[15][16]
- 2014-2021: Life Size Bronze Portrait of Nettie Depp, public education champion from Kentucky, for KY State Capitol Building[17]
- 2016–2019: Life Size Bronze Portrait of Alice Allison Dunnigan for Russellville, Kentucky[18]
- 2018-2019: 3D Letters and Plaques for "John Lewis - Good Trouble" Tribute Wall at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, part of a team of artists that collaborated on the construction of the installation [19]
- 2015–2016: Life Size Bronze Portrait of Capt. Solomon Lee Van Meter Jr., pioneer aviator whose backpack parachute invention is featured in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C., for the Aviation Museum of Kentucky Permanent Collection[20]
- 2014: Life Size Ancient Greek Boxer Olympian Bronze Reproduction, Jasmine Hill Gardens, a Public Botanical & Sculpture Garden & Museum, Montgomery, Alabama, Permanent Collection
- 2013: Bronze portrait of Dr. George Zach, retired conductor of Lexington Philharmonic installed in Singletary Center for the Arts, University of Kentucky Art Museum Permanent Collection[21]
- 2012: Good Shepherd Catholic Church Baptismal Font, Frankfort, KY, Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington Permanent Public Collection
- 2010: Life Size Bronze Stephen Elrod Memorial Sculpture installed at Georgetown College in Permanent Public Sculpture Collection[22]
- 2009: St. Paul Catholic Church Baptismal Font, Lexington, KY, Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington Permanent Public Collection[23]
- 2007: Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, 210' Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, Water is Life[14]
- 2006: City of Mainz, Germany Permanent Collection[citation needed]
Nominations and Awards[]
- 2020 - Appointed as member of the Kentucky Oral History Commission by Governor Andy Beshear[24]
- 2019 - Board/Committee Member, Monumental Women of Kentucky[25]
- 2018 - NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Kentucky Chapter awards Matthews 2018 "Strive Business Owner of the Year" Award [26]
Public mentions and media[]
- 2021 - Lexington Herald Leader: 'Not just a number.' Kentucky art installation will honor 10,000-plus COVID-19 deaths[27]
- 2021 - The Courier-Journal: 20 Months, more than 10,000 deaths: Kentucky memorializes those who have died from COVID [28]
- 2021 - The Lily (Washington Post): This Massive Monument to Women is Quietly Taking Shape in New York City[16]
- 2020 - New York Times: Placing Women on a Different Sort of Pedestal [29]
- 2020 - Smithsonian Magazine: Kentucky State Capitol Will Unveil Its First Statue Honoring a Woman [17]
- 2020 - Smithsonian Magazine: The Must-See Outdoor Art Installations of 2020[30] Amanda Matthews' The Girl Puzzle, New York City, listed 3rd on worldwide list of 9
- 2019 - C-SPAN: African American Journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan[31] Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, Dr. Nancy Dawson, Amanda Matthews, Soraya Dunnigan presented
- 2019 - Winchester Sun: Shade Sculpture will soon 'grow' at Legacy Grove [32]
- 2018 - Politics: First black female White House reporter gets Newseum statue, The Washington Post[33]
- 2018 - NATIONAL: Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman To Cover White House, Gets Statue At Newseum, NPR, All Things Considered[34]
- 2018 - Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman to Cover White House, Will Get Statue at Newseum, The New York Times[7]
- 2017 - Kentucky Historic Properties Advisory Commission approves life-size sculpture of Nettie Depp for Kentucky Capitol[35]
- 2016 – Dunnigan to be honored with bronze statue[18]
- 2016 – Aviation Museum to unveil bronze sculpture of aviation pioneer Van Meter[20]
- 2015 – Lexington sculptor seeks – and starts creating – more statues of notable Kentucky women, minorities, Lexington Herald Leader, Lexington, KY[36]
- 2015 – Appeared in Documentary Film, Dreamers and Doers: VOICES of Kentucky Women[37][38]
- 2015 – Restored Gratz Park 'kids' return to James Lane Allen fountain[39]
- 2013 – Dr. George Zach bronze portrait unveiled at Singletary Center for the Arts, in Lexington, KY, University of Kentucky Art Museum Permanent Collection[21]
- 2010 – Stephen Elrod Memorial bronze sculpture unveiled at Georgetown College[22]
- April 22, 2007 – Water is Life Ephemeral Environmental Art Installation at the Louisville Zoo, Courier Journal, Critics Pick by Diane Heilenman, visual art critic[14]
- July 2006 – Amanda Matthews (Fields) work featured in Germany's Der Mainzer Magazine[citation needed]
- May 2006 – Art World News magazine lists Amanda Matthews (Fields) on their Artists Worth Watching list.[40]
See also[]
- List of sculptors
- List of female sculptors
- List of contemporary artists
- List of American artists 1900 and after
- List of 20th-century women artists
References[]
- ^ "HOME". The Girl Puzzle. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ Ladd, Sarah. "New unveiling date announced for Nettie Depp monument, first statue of woman at state Capitol". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ Kane, Jack. "COVID-19 Memorial unveiled at Kentucky State Capitol". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ "Ky. Remembers 10,000+ Lost to COVID-19; Permanent Memorial Planned". The River City News. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ "New art installation to honor over 10,000 Kentuckians lost to COVID-19". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ Wolf, Stephanie (November 14, 2021). "A new monument in Frankfort will honor the Kentuckians who died from COVID-19". 89.3 WFPL News Louisville. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Zraick, Karen (August 23, 2018). "Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman to Cover White House, Will Get Statue at Newseum". The New York Times.
- ^ "Alice Dunnigan Bronze Sculpture for Russellville, Kentucky". artemis-initiative. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Alice Dunnigan Statue Stops at the Truman Library on National Tour". Truman Library Institute. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Alice Allison Dunnigan Statue at the SEEK Museum – US Civil Rights Trail". Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Fasttrack Organization Search – THE WILD HONEYSUCKLE, LLC". Kentucky Secretary of State Online Services. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Retrieved December 3, 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "Mountain Witness Tours | Kentuckians for the Commonwealth". Kftc.org. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Dryad Series Messengers by Amanda Matthews". Prometheusart.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Louisville News, Sports, Business". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ https://rioc.ny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2902/Amanda-Matthews-of-Prometheus-Art-Selected-to-Create-Nellie-Bly-Monument---10-16-19
- ^ a b Eblen, Shannon. "This massive monument to women is quietly taking shape in New York City". www.thelily.com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Machemer, Theresa. "Kentucky State Capitol Will Unveil Its First Statue Honoring a Woman". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Stapleton, OJ (September 29, 2016). "Dunnigan to be honored with bronze statue". News-Democrat & Leader. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ^ "Project: John Lewis: Good Trouble". www.prometheusart.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "Aviation Museum to unveil bronze sculpture of aviation pioneer Van Meter". KyForward.com. June 22, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b "Zack honored with Singletary Center plaque | Copious Notes". Copiousnotes.bloginky.com. November 12, 2011. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b "Other Sculptures – Fine Art Galleries". Georgetowncollege.edu. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Saint Paul Catholic Church | Martina Brothers Company, Inc". Martinabros.com. June 20, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Governor Beshear Makes Appointments to Kentucky Boards and Commissions". kentucky.gov. May 15, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
- ^ "The Committee". Monumental Women KY. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
- ^ "Business Briefs". The Voice-Tribune. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ Chisenhall, Jeremy (November 14, 2021). "'Not just a number.' Kentucky art installation will honor 10,000-plus COVID-19 deaths". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ Yetter, Deborah. "20 months, more than 10,000 deaths: Kentucky memorializes those who have died from COVID". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ Eblen, Shannon (October 21, 2020). "Placing Women on a Different Sort of Pedestal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Must-See Outdoor Art Installations of 2020".
- ^ "African American Journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan".
- ^ "Shade sculpture will soon 'grow' at Legacy Grove". Winchester Sun. August 21, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "First black female White House reporter gets Newseum statue". AP NEWS. September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman To Cover White House, Gets Statue At Newseum". NPR.org.
- ^ Brammer, Jack (December 22, 2017). "Kentucky's Capitol will finally get a life-size statue of a woman". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Tom Eblen (July 25, 2015). "Tom Eblen: Lexington sculptor seeks – and starts creating – more statues of notable Kentucky women, minorities". Lexington Herald-Leader. Kentucky.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Dreamers & Doers: Voices of Kentucky Women « KET". Ket.org. June 15, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Lifesize Bronze Statue of Nettie Depp, Kentucky Education Reformer". The Artemis Initiative. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- ^ "Restored Gratz Park 'kids' return to James Lane Allen fountain". The Bluegrass and Beyond. Tomeblen.bloginky.com. June 24, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- ^ Art World News Magazine, May 2006, Page 47, Artists Worth Watching List featured image of Reforestation by Amanda Matthews Fields with size, price, details, and website
External links[]
- 1968 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American painters
- 20th-century American sculptors
- Painters from Kentucky
- Sculptors from Kentucky
- University of Louisville alumni
- Artists from Louisville, Kentucky
- Artists from Lexington, Kentucky
- Kentucky women artists
- 20th-century American women artists
- 21st-century American painters
- 21st-century American sculptors
- 21st-century American women artists