Matthew Pillsbury

About Episode 23

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha and photographer, Matthew Pillsbury discuss how important the individual image is regardless of how it might fit into a body of work and how this allows Matthew to stay open to unanticipated possibilities and suggestions while making the work. Sasha and Matthew also talk about how an artist’s identity can be understood or perceived in their work even when it’s not overtly referenced.

About Matthew Pillsbury

Drawing on inspiration from Hiroshi Sugimoto and Abelardo Morell, Pillsbury’s photographs invite viewers to reflect upon how they choose to fill their spaces and time. Demonstrating a talent for making the familiar seem strange, Pillsbury draws attention to the fundamental ingredients of existence, transforming overlooked aspects of reality into both subject and object.

Matthew Pillsbury graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1995 and received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2004. In 2007, he was awarded the Fondation HSBC pour la Photographie award in France, and is also a recipient of the 2014 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship. In 2013, Pillsbury published his monograph City Stages with Aperture. His work is represented in more than twenty-five permanent collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Musée du Louvre, Paris; and many others.