"If you didn’t catch Matthew Sepielli’s work at Artspace Liberti’s In3s show, now would be the perfect time to journey to Tiger Strikes Asteroid on N. 11th Street to wander through Sepielli’s works. Not quite paintings, but not exactly sculptures either, his work favors hardcover books rather than canvas as his base. These mutant forms have extraordinary texture and come to life through Sepielli’s novel exploration of medium. For instance, his piece “State Fair” layers purples, blues and yellows and juxtaposes them with drill holes on what appears to be scraps of cut canvas spilling out of a closed book. In an interview with FunnelPages, Sepielli reveals his artistic process: “I had all of these hard-bound books, and I was thinking about what I could do with these things after I’m done reading them, since they usually just sit on shelves. So they became surfaces that I paint on. I am thinking about brail and text and how you read a painting versus how you read a book.” With this in mind, his books transform from out-of-reach abstracts into thought provoking 3D concept pieces. Yet, not all of Sepielli’s work hangs on the white walls of galleries — his participation in the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program lends him some serious street cred. This is Sepielli’s first solo exhibit and this local is definitely worth watching out for."
