Today in Street Art: Matt Evans finds sweet spot where art, technology collide

“I just make shit,” says Matt Evans. “It’s part of who I am.”

Born and raised in Atlanta, Evans, 29, has spent his entire life making art. He attended Fernbank Elementary School and when middle school rolled around, he kept his hands busy creating films and using sculpey clay.

Evans went on to graduate from Georgia State University in 2015 with a degree in fine arts, painting and drawing. “Art is what I was drawn to and I wanted to keep doing this thing that rewards me in some way,” he says.

While at Georgia State, Evans volunteered to work with William Massey, a local sculptor. “He taught me the ideas of surviving as an artist,” Evans says. Additionally, Evans painted his first mural with another familiar face: Sean Curtis. “Sean taught me not only how to paint murals, but the logistics of operating a mural gig,” he says.

Evans began as a freelance artist on projects ranging from painting pet and house portraits to large-scale murals — he welcomed it all.

Nowadays, his focus is on large-scale commercial murals and selling his personal work. His murals can be viewed at Ponce City Market, Southern Dairies, Parkside Shops, the Atlanta Falcons training facility and more.

Evans’ work will be on display at ABV Gallery’s exhibition Paper Trail through April 9. The gallery, founded by Atlanta artist and designer Greg Mike, is an experiential marketing agency, design studio and artist management agency. The exhibition will feature the works of more than 60 contemporary artists.

At its core, Evans’ work is centered around how technology distorts perception. To him, technology relates to how everything is interfaced through social media and how people are becoming exponentially more integrated into digital personas.

And if one thing is clear in this century, it’s that social media is redefining how artists do business. Evans enjoys the ability to combine his art, music and filmmaking skills through social media, but for all the positives — reaching new audiences and boosting sales — there are downsides.

“To me, an artist is not a brand,” Evans says. “Social media has turned the idea of an artist into a brand for many. Part of being an artist and a human is changing, growing and doing new things. There’s nothing wrong with becoming a brand, but it doesn’t work well for me.”

Evans has many projects in the process of being confirmed, including another mural at Ponce City Market. The increased opportunities, he says, are due to Atlanta’s continued development.

But even as the city grows, he says the arts community remains tight-knit. Art in Atlanta is often conscious in that it tells a story.

“We have a legacy of civil rights and Atlanta is culturally important to the whole world,” he says. “The arts are important because it’s an opportunity to interact with people and provide a moment to reflect. Art brings people in — it’s an experience. Public art is an opportunity to have a dialogue.”