Alumni Spotlight: Michael Christopher Matson

Michael Christopher Matson (B.F.A. ’10) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

Though Michael Christopher Matson entered Meadows’ Division of Art with the intention of furthering his existing love for drawing, he graduated the program with a passion for sculpture. Prior to attending SMU, Matson had spent years drawing and doing shows, and while his degree is still in printmaking, his experience at Meadows altered his career trajectory and provided him with a new medium to pursue upon graduation. 

“Drawing is my base, my core and always will be, but discovering my voice in sculpture meant making the things I was naturally inclined to draw,” explains Matson, of his artistic journey at Meadows. “I still find time to try new things and understand that I do not know what I might accidentally enjoy and want to further.” 

Matson had already mastered the art of neon and glassblowing as a teen, having worked his way up to be the foreman of a neon shop by age 18, and has incorporated those skills into many of his sculptures and metal works. He has made a neon sculpture chandelier for critically acclaimed Dallas restaurant Petra and the Beast, neon works for the Pittman Hotel in Deep Ellum and the neon signs for Stephen F. Austin State University’s basketball stadium game tunnel in Nacogdoches.

Matson's neon work displayed in the basketball stadium game tunnel of Stephen F. Austin State University.

In addition to these projects, he has worked for local scenic companies, making props and structures for concert projection screens, and even worked on fashion collaborations like “Coco Chanel Comes to Dallas.” And for Matson, collaboration is key.

“I caution against being too solo or too into oneself, get out there and work with others,” says Matson, reflecting his past collaborative projects. “I do neon projects for Lou Lambert, Paris Coffee Shop, and Roy Pope Grocery in Fort Worth, and last year I did a show at The Halles in Round Top, TX with [fellow sculptor] George Sellers.”

Matson’s most recent collaboration was at a sculpture show in Abilene, TX, where he and sculptor James Surls, a former SMU faculty member, both had works at the 38th Biennial Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition. This contemporary outdoor sculpture show, Abilene’s longest-running public art exhibition, shines a spotlight on acclaimed Texas artists. Matson’s work, This Way Up, and Surls’ work, Two Prisms with Molecular Eyes, were among four pieces unveiled during the exhibition and will be on display for two years. Matson and Surls also gave an art talk to students at Abilene Christian University while in town for the show.


A piece from Matson's show with George Sellers in Round Top, TX; a glass birdcage that illuminates with bronze bees inside it.

While you can see his some of his work at art exhibits, galleries and other institutions, Matson also documents his art, as well as other hobbies like beekeeping, extensively on his social media channels; content creation being a skill he says he developed during his time Meadows. You can find Matson, and more of his art, on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Learn more about the Division of Art here.