Many of the images I create begin loosely as distortions of people I encountered growing up in Sanford, Maine. Some draw from the heavy metal and punk rock sub-cultures that also influenced me. As an image develops, each character begins to form a new unexpected identity. I become more aware of the components involved in the makeup of a personality and more interested in warping identities by mismatching these components.

Matthew Oates has had a solo show at 57Delle Project Space/Floft Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts and he has been in numerous group shows in the Boston area at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, The Distillery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Limner Gallery and The Boston Center for Psychoanalysis. He is the recipient of several awards including the Lawrence Kupferman Memorial Award, the George Nick Prize and the Rob Moore Memorial Grant. His work has been published in Direct Art Magazine and his band "Phantom Glue" was nominated for best new metal act at Boston Music Awards and recently recorded a new album.