Matt Bodett received his MFA from Boise State University in 2011, and taught printmaking there until he moved to Chicago in 2013. Since moving to Chicago he has played an active role in disability advocacy and utilizing artwork to open dialogue around madness. As a visual artist, poet, and performance artist Matt has had opportunities to share his work at many venues throughout the Chicago including Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, The Poetry Foundation, Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Evanston Art Center, Gallery 400, and many other locations. His printmaking has been featured in the 3rd Global Print exhibition and the 9th Douro Biennial in Douro, Portugal, as well as print exhibitions in Tehran, Iran; Milan, Italy; and Oslo, Norway. Matt teaches at Loyola University Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and is on the advisory board for the Institute for Therapy Through the Arts based in Evanston, IL.

Matt's work directly responds to his lived expereinces with madness. Being given a dianosis of schizo-affective disorder in 2005, he has spent his career attmpeting to understand his own mind, the social implications of madness, and the historical underpinnings. His artwork continues to evolve and pulls references from Western Art history in an attempt to connect the ideals of western society to the problematic nature of how we interact with contemporary madness.  

Featured Artworks

  •  Matt Bodett artwork From "After Ingres"
  •  Matt Bodett artwork From "costume designs for the insane"
  •  Matt Bodett artwork From the performance "is: si ng"
  •  Matt Bodett artwork Delusions (form is emptiness)
  •  Matt Bodett artwork Monu Mental
  •  Matt Bodett artwork Mad Seems Fails
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  •  Matt Bodett artwork

Matt Bodett has crowd-funded a project with 3AP

  • we are, we are

    • $5,047 raised of $5,000 goal
    • 0 Days 0:00:00 LEFT
      • 3Arts matched
      • 101% funded

    My project, we are, we are, seeks to change the conversation we have about mental health. Since having been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder myself, in 2005, this project is both personal and deeply needed socially. Too often people with mental …

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  • Oak Leaves

    • $5,695 raised of $6,000 goal
    • 29 Days 22:19:59 LEFT
      • 3Arts matched
      • 95% funded
      • 5% to go

    Oak Leaves represents my most ambitious work to date, painting a replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. This idea and project are monumental in scale, so I plan to begin by focusing on two iconic figures, The Libyan and Cumaean …

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