Matt Rinard

Matt Rinard American born artist living in New Olreans, Louisiana. Born in Meridian, Mississippi October 24, 1964 he was the son of an Admiral in the United States Navy. By the time he was 16 he had moved to six different states and was dropped on his head twice by his own grandmother. He attended N.O.C.C.A. New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in 1980 and abandoned the school in 1981 to attend Holy Cross High School in the Lower Ninth Ward. He received a bachelor's degree from Florida State University in Graphic Design in 1987 and continued his artistic endeavors at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts from 1990 to 2003 under the tutelage of Auseklis Ozols. He started his own publishing company Spilled Inc. in 1988 producing aquatint lithographs. His first publisher was Persian Boy Publishing producing limited edition hand pulled serigraphs. His publisher Roger Bogle was murdered in 1992. This unfortunate event forced Matt to produce and publish his own artwork out of his Spilled Inc. studio on Orleans Street in the French Quarter. In 1998 he opened his own gallery on Royal Street next to Rodrique's Blue Dog Gallery. In 2001 he caught the eye of the legendary publisher Jack Solomon owner of S2art enterprises. S2art published the works of Erte, Everhart, Ron Wood, Stanley Mouse, Gordon Parks, Rafal Obinski and many other noteworthy 20th century artists. S2Art produced hand pulled lithographs of Matt's creation on a 1810 Voirin French Press. These are the same lithographic presses that Toulouse Lautrec used in the 1800s. He produced the first four lithographs in the S2 atelier in Soho, New York. The following lithographs were printed in their Las Vegas atelier under the master pressman Ray Mazza. Matt Rinard works primarily in gouache a highly pigmented and opaque watercolor. He depicts animals displaying very human characteristics and the work is best described as post pop art. His paintings and prints are also prized for their bold composition and vibrant colors, but it is his quirky sense of humor and his subject matter that have won him a devoted following among pet owners around the world.

In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and put 4 feet of water in Matt's studio/home in Lake Vista. This prompted him to move to Vail, Colorado until his home could be rebuilt. In July, 2006 he returned to New Orleans and reopened his gallery and studio. He received much support from his fan base in Germany and the United States. His fractured life is illustrated in his macabre yet whimsical paintings. He works primarily in gouache which is an opaque watercolor. He currently resides in New Orleans in the house that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Matt Rinard has had numerous one man show's in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Gronau, Bonn, and Berlin.

He is the official artist for the New Orleans parade Barkus.

He was the official artist for the New Orleans Ironman 70.3.

He was the official artist for the French Quarter Festival for six straight years 1991 to 1997.

He was the official artist for the Crescent City Classic in 1999.

References

www.moderndogmagazine.com/articles/artist-matt-rinard/262

www.jackgallery.com/mattrinard.html

http://www.frenchquarterbxb.com

www.urbandogmagazine.com/archive_wags1.php?id=12

External links

www.moderndogmagazine.com/articles/artist-matt-rinard/262

www.galleryrinard.com

www.urbandogmagazine.com/archive_wags1.php?id=12

www.fascinationst.com

www.jackgallery.com/mattrinard.html