Matthew Rolston, a well-established figure in contemporary photography, began his career under the mentorship of American artist Andy Warhol, contributing to Warhol’s groundbreaking Interview magazine while still a student at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. Emerging from the vibrant 1980s magazine scene, Rolston became known for his stylized portraits encapsulating the era’s fascination with celebrity and constructed identity.
The photographs from his upcoming shows, drawn from Rolston’s archive, are a selection from five distinct bodies of work, spanning over four decades. Together, these series trace his evolution from editorial photography to personal fine art projects - conceptual explorations of the human condition.
Talking Heads: The Vent Haven Portraits, developed in 2010, was Rolston’s first self-assigned series, turning his lens to a rare collection of ventriloquial figures at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Through uniform composition and lighting, he imbued these inanimate figures with a sense of life, exploring themes of persona on the uncanny, and the idea of projection into human simulacra.
Art People: The Pageant Portraits, completed in 2016, delves into the elaborate world of the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, where volunteers recreate classical artworks through tableau vivant. Rolston’s grand-scale portraits capture the transformative power of art and performance, attempting to question the boundaries between reality and representation.
Hollywood Royale: Out of the School of Los Angeles, encompasses portraits from the late 1970’s through the early 1990’s, offering a postmodern reflection on the essence of Hollywood’s golden age. Featuring 1980’s entertainment icons such as a young Molly Ringwald, pop superstars Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper, the series reflects Rolston’s signature blend of glamour and theatricality.
beautyLIGHT: Pictures at a Magazine offers a later grouping of magazine assignments made over a 20-year period, spanning 1988 to 2008. Rolston combined elements of style, staging, light and color to depict some of the era’s most talked-about entertainers, including Salma Hayek, Lenny Kravitz, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, Beyonce, and many others.
In Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits, from 2013, Rolston photographed mummified remains in Palermo, Sicily’s famed Capuchin Catacombs. The images serve as a meditation on mortality, beauty and the enduring human spirit, bridging the gap between life and death through art.
Collectively, these works underscore Rolston’s enduring fascination with constructed identities and the performative aspects of human existence. His photographs invite viewers to reflect on the interplay between appearance and reality, and the universal desire for connection and meaning.
Hollywood Royale: Out of the School of Los Angeles: https://www.hollywoodroyale.com
Talking Heads: The Vent Haven Portraits: https://matthewrolstontalkingheads.com
beautyLIGHT: Pictures at a Magazine: https://www.beautylight.com
Art People: The Pageant Portraits: https://www.matthewrolstonartpeople.com
Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits: https://www.vanitasproject.com
The Power of Pleasure, ArtCenter Class https://www.thepowerofpleasure.com
