This year, Delbarton has twelve artists in the Class of 2024 who displayed their full Sustained Investigations at the annual AP Art Exhibit in the FAC.
Meet our next student artist, Matthew Mastrangelo '24:
"As a child, I was always guided by the artistic influence of my mother. We would spend countless hours of the day discovering different kinds of mediums (often involving spreading masses of paint with sweeping movements of the fingers)," he began in his Artist Statement. "As I physically grew, so did my interest in the arts. In middle school and high school art classes, the quality and vastness of my materials drastically increased, allowing me to dive deeper into my investigation of different mediums and styles."
In his Sustained Investigation, Matt drew on his passion for classical and European history, as well as his interest in comics and storytelling, to develop a series of Pop Art-inspired works which he refers to as Ancient Pop Art. His works showcase artistic risks as Matt carefully balanced each piece with color, text, and overall composition.
"I began my investigation with works that explored ancient statuary through a Roy Lichtenstein-esque comic book style, focusing on color and text to create humor. Over time I became incredibly interested in the personality of each piece, asking questions like 'How can I give character to my subjects?', 'How can I showcase words to hint at hidden narratives?' and 'How can I bring in elements of pop culture, whether through contemporary memes or homages to 1960s artists?'"
We salute Matt and his fellow AP Art artists for their exceptional achievements in the arts at Delbarton this year!