MATT WEDEL
Matt Wedel was born and raised in Palisade, Colorado, and began working with clay at a young age. Under the guidance of his father, a functional potter, Wedel developed an early understanding of clay as a studio practice. At age 14, Wedel studied traditional ceramic techniques from Manta Ortiz with Michael Wisner, apprentice to Juan Quesada. Shortly after, he attended the last workshop by Peter Voulkos which further tilted the narrative of his practice within the context of ceramic history. These early studies led him to receive his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied under Xavier Toubes, among others. He then received an MFA in ceramics from California State University, Long Beach where he studied with Tony Marsh and Kristen Morgin. Wedel went on to teach largescale ceramics and contemporary practice at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Colorado, Boulder and Ohio University. In early 2012, Wedel set up a full-time studio practice in Southeast Ohio where he lives with his family.
His work has been exhibited widely, most recently in the solo exhibition Matt Wedel: On the Verge, at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Museum of Art which traveled to the Wichita Falls Museum of Art in Texas. His work is held in collections and museums internationally including in the collection of the Clay Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Canada, and the Long Beach Museum of Art in California, and is featured in Wasserman Projects’ Winter 2021 exhibition, A Mark Extended.