Owner, Houston
EVENT: I interviewed Matt on the occasion of the gallery's second anniversary. While we talked, two Siamese kittens, both named "Noodles," napped near an orange iBook, bringing an uncommon fuzziness to the gallery's pop-futuristic aesthetic.
As long as I've known you, you've said that the gallery probably wouldn't be open much longer. But here you are, two years old. "We're still here. I'm not sure how long we're going to continue to do it, but so far it's been fun. We opened a store in Tokyo in April, and we've had two exhibitions over there. I think we're probably going to focus our attention on Tokyo in the near future."
Will there be any cross-pollination--you know, Japanese art coming over here? "That's what we'd like to do. We've been looking around and checking out Japanese artists whenever we go out there."
I've been impressed by how Houston has brought non art-scene people into the gallery--club kids, designers, skateboarders. Was that part of your intent, or were you just following your aesthetic? "I was following an aesthetic, but I knew I didn't want this to be a traditional, typical gallery that's off-putting to walk into. I wanted it to be accessible to everybody. I hope we succeeded. We don't view art as being this kind of snooty thing. That's why we have the museum and the museum store in one space--to break down all those barriers and concepts about what an art gallery is supposed to be."
And the clothing you sell sends art out into the world. "I'm really interested in mass products. It seems like in the art world everything is about limited editions and the rarity of getting things, and that's what we don't do. Those clothes that we design, I would see them fitting in someplace like Wal-Mart or Target."
Target has been amazing over the past few years, with the quality of design in the objects it carries. "I'm really impressed. I like the concept that they've got these great designers who, like Charles Eames said, 'the most and the best to the greatest number of people for the least.' I really think that's what good design should do."
