College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Visiting Artist Series welcomed Chicago artist, Matt Bodett, Friday, May 8 via Zoom. Studio Art students were privileged to learn from Bodett’s expertise as well as ask him questions.
Bodett received his Master of Fine Arts from Boise State University in 2011 where he taught printmaking until he moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 2013. Since moving to Chicago he has played an active role in disability advocacy and utilizing artwork to open dialogue around mental health. As a visual artist, poet, and performance artist, Bodett has had opportunities to share his work at venues throughout Chicago including Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, The Poetry Foundation, Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Evanston Art Center, Gallery 400, and several other locations. Bodett has also exhibited and performed internationally, most notably at the Freud Museum in London and the No Limits Festival in Berlin. Matt is on the advisory board for the Institute for Therapy through the Arts based in Evanston, Illinois, and serves on the artist’s counsel for 3Arts.
“The content of this workshop was amazing! Matt presented his work and the concepts behind them in a really effective way,” commented Studio Art student, Jordan Barno. “I loved how he mixed so many mediums and some classic art history pieces in very new ways.”
CWI’s Visiting Artist Series is made possible through a grant from Idaho Commission on the Arts, which is supported by National Endowment for the Arts.