94 | MAY 18 • 2023
O
n opening day of her painting
exhibit at the Birmingham
Bloomfield Art Center, Terry
Matlen was thrilled that about a third
of her 21 paintings sold and will be
distributed when the exhibit ends on
June 1.
In the meantime, she hopes there will
be more interested buyers because she
established the autobiographical exhibit
to relate to viewers and help them
recognize their own ways of life and
how they reached those ways.
The key in the development of her
display, RAW – A Journey Through
Her Wild Imagination, Childhood and
Symbolism, consists mainly of small
story paintings with most in the size of
about 8 inches by 8 inches.
“This show unfolded as I was working
on it,” Matlen said. “I have a lot of
artifacts and vintage items in my studio,
and I’d grab one of them and paint.
“I start with one object and think
what will make this painting work with
a story but also artistic elements such as
composition, texture, light and dark so
things just happened.
“I saw themes emerge which begin
with my early childhood. The beginning
of my show is a painting of me as a
young girl looking pretty unhappy
because there have been traumas.”
Those traumas reach from a
misdiagnosed appendicitis to the death
of her father. Then there are feelings
expressed about being a tomboyish
sister among brothers.
“One of the paintings shows me as
a pouting little girl in a dance outfit
standing next to my brother in what
I thought was a very cool Cub Scout
uniform,” she said. “He got to do things
that I thought were interesting.”
The artist wants viewers to be aware
that she inserts humorous elements in
her artistry as well because she wants
to provide what she considers necessary
laughter.
The show builds with different
symbols as Matlen is very interested in
symbols, dreams and fantasies while
working as an online social worker who
has written two books, The Queen of
Distraction: How Women With ADHD
Can Conquer Chaos, Find Focus and
Get More Done as well as Survival Tips
for Women with AD/HD: Beyond Piles,
Palms and Post-its.
“I think small canvases can really
draw a punch because they invite the
viewer to come closer,” said Matlen,
who also did one large painting at the
request of the art center. “Viewers pull
into these images and bring their own
experiences
“My goal is not only to express my
own feelings and history but to let
viewers bring their experiences into
what they’re seeing. When you get
close, you can see little tiny details you
might not see standing 10 feet back.”
Matlen, who grew up in Detroit and
Huntington Woods and now lives in
Birmingham, attributes her interest in
art to a teacher at Berkley High School.
The teacher gave each student a small
piece of cardboard and told them to
make a small hole and then look at
surroundings through that hole.
“That was the beginning of me
Autobiographical Art
ARTS&LIFE
ART
Terry Matlen tells her story through
a series of small paintings at the
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“Scout Envy,” oil on
canvas, 8”x8”. LEFT:
“Schuyler and the
Flying Dutchman,”
oil on canvas, 8”x8”.
continued on page 96