Matthew Oates' portraits explore the mutations of perception that take place within human interactions. Created originally from people he has encountered, each persona enters an alternate world where characteristics can be amplified and represented visually without regard for the perils of the world of the viewer. These individuals look back out at us and a new interaction is created that challenges the traditional relationship between observer and image.

Matthew Oates has exhibited in and around Boston and New York at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, The Distillery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Limner Gallery and The Boston Center for Psychoanalysis. He is the recipient of several awards including the Lawrence Kupferman Memorial Award, the George Nick Prize and the Rob Moore Memorial Grant. His work has been published in Coming Soon Zine and Direct Art magazine. He has toured and performed around the country with musical projects: Phantom Glue and Nodule. Matthew works and lives in Newbury, New Hampshire with his wife and two daughters.