Matrix4 Announces Second Resident Artist
Matrix4 announces its second artist to take residence within the design and manufacturing house, challenging what is possible in the medium of plastic.
Five months after celebrating its inaugural Artist Residency program, M4 announces its second artist to take residence within the design and manufacturing house, challenging what is possible in the medium of plastic.
Chehalis Hegner was selected to kick-off the second Artist Residency in February, 2020. She is an award-winning, local artist who is fluent in photography. However, it was her underlying motivation to create improvisationally that resonated with M4, says Patricia Miller, CEO and Visionary. “Chehalis inspired us with her ideas to explore a multitude of applications beyond what we were imagining.”
“Improvisation is my guide. What results is a record of states of being during particular moments lived. Making art is as much a physical experience as it is intellectual and creative,” says Hegner. “This is new territory for me. I feel both lost and excited to manifest something I’ve never been done before. That’s the essence of creativity — riding the crest of a wave I’ve never experienced.”
M4 is a factory house that both designs and manufactures meaningful products in plastic, and has a strong voice in the plastic pollution discussion. Miller says, “we feel an inherent obligation to challenge what is possible in the medium of plastic and how not to waste a valuable resource, but reuse, recycle and upcycle it.”
To address the issues and take action, the company launched its inaugural Artist Residency program in the summer of 2019. Spearheaded by Miller and Kyle Swen, Chief Design Office, an artist is chosen through an application process to reside in the factory and produce objects of art.
“How do we push boundaries and honor the artistic form of creating and rendering, while highlighting the innovative element of making?” says Swen. “We are challenging the status quo of mass production — leveraging our machines and material to create singular objects of art.”
Recently awarded the Fourth Revolution Awards’ 2019 Small and Mid-Sized Manufacturer of the Year by mHUB Chicago and MxD, the plastics injection molder is redefining what it means to engage in manufacturing. Applications
are still being accepted for future 2020 resident artists. All artists across all media are encouraged to complete an online application before February 29, 2020.
