Matthew Baumgardner

American, 1955 - 2018

 

MFA, Painting, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1982

National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts National Fellowship: Painting, 1993

Commencing his painting career in the Carolinas from 1978 - 1983 as an undergraduate, graduate student and art teacher, Baumgardner moved to New York City in 1983 where he lived, worked and exhibited until 2006. Matt Baumgardner is a professional artist now based in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, just south of Asheville. His work is in numerous public and private collections worldwide.

Baumgardner's paintings, drawings and sculptures have been exhibited since 1978 in internationally-recognized galleries in the United States and Europe. These exhibitions include galleries such as Charles Cowles (New York), Edward Thorpe (New York), Jeffery Coploff (New York), Wessell O'Connor (New York), Bentley Gallery (Scottsdale), Carrie Secrist (Chicago), and LewAllen Contemporary (Santa Fe).

These works have received favorable notices in publications such as The New York Observer (Grace Glueck), The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Chicago Tribune. In 1980 "Neighborhood of Squares" was selected for the Gibbes Museum by world- renowned New York Times art critic Roberta Smith. Baumgardner also received the highest award by the National Endowment for the Arts as an individual artist.