Reiko Matsuo
drafts.
From the earliest memories of my proffessional endeavors, spanning back to maybe when I was 3, I had an idea of what I wanted to do/be.
I really liked horses. That was what I drew everyday in elementary school.
Sometimes I’ll draw pigs. I would copy magazines and picture books of horses, and tried to make the most perfect drawings of horses.
I started to draw cows in the summer of 2007, for many reasons. Cows are muse to many people. They symbolize different things to different people. They are a medium to explore various themes. Sometimes they are maternal figures, they are heroic, they are massive, and they are domesticized slaves relinquished from pressures of survival.
There is something
basic to cows.
I chose materials and processes that are most simplified and basic to express the essence without the frills. I am drawn to the idea of using common materials such as pencils to make refined drawings. The resultant drawings are honest without being crude, and they are based on a peculiar obsession.
In most of my work, that is what I am trying to do: Using common materials, investigate beauty.
(I don't know why, but I love this piece. I write notes on anything, on really thick paper, most of the time, and sometimes on canvas)
The cows on the right, somehow seem more devine when you can't see their heads. The cows on the left are dirty, they are being cast away.
Ah, the lovers and the shadow.
The pig cow.
'I'
This one is really large and is married to another rather large cow. Part of a diptych.
This is a large drawing that I did of receipts. I had been collecting receipts, because I am an independent contractor. I spend money every day, and collect receipts every day. This is sort of a journaling process.
These are receipt drawings that I'm working from. And still collecting.
Sea weed ball. 2002.
'Pig Boy' This is made out of mostly gelatin. Experimenting with ways to make organic, biodegradable plastic.
More gelatin work.
I am hanging all of my work that I did one year in school. They are all white.
This piece was an interactive artwork. The frame had rice paper pasted all around it, and people were invited to poke holes through it. I came and repasted the rice paper every week it was exhibited. What was inside was an illuminated wedding dress made out of the same material, rice paper. 
Rice paper dress.
'Bariki' There were 6 of these in total, made out of local clay. 
'Resonance and Rebirth' 
30"x50", Graphite, Gesso
30"x50", Graphite, Gesso
40"x50", Graphite, Gesso
40"x50", Graphite, Gesso
24"x24",Graphite, Gesso, Mace, Hair, Rust
24"x24", Graphite, Gesso, Mace
