Matt Tullis
Alternative Typestyles
October 13 – November 14                              

“Typography, the quintessential element of visual communication, is the subject of this exhibition. My objective is to assemble typographic artifacts in an alphabetic gestalt, where the whole is more fluent than any individual piece. An important part of this A-Z exhibition is a photographic homage to the vernacular letterforms featured in vintage American signs. My photographs highlight the intuitive typographic approach of the original artists and they provide a close-up examination of the expressionistic surfaces of each rusted letterform and flake of peeling paint. My own constructed sculptures are the primary focus of this exhibition. Using reclaimed typographic artifacts as the dominant thematic element, I combine various found objects to create compositions that recall the persona and mystique of old signage. Each . . . sculpture is informed by their factors: the decay of the original typographic specimen, the contextual history of the found-object letterform, and my own typographic and artistic sensibilities. My goal for the exhibition audience is to share in my appreciation for, and devotion to, the disparate letterforms of these Alternative Typestyles.”