Amanda Matthews | |
|---|---|
 Amanda Matthews in studio | |
| Born | September 1, 1968 |
| Education | University of Louisville |
| Occupation(s) | Sculptor, painter, CEO of Prometheus Foundry |
| Spouse | Robert (Brad) Connell |
| Children | 2 |
Amanda Matthews (born 1968) is an American sculptor and painter from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
Amanda Matthews was born in 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky to James (Jim) Matthews III and Brenda Matthews. She attended Bullitt East High School in Mt. Washington, Kentucky and graduated in 1986. Matthews earned her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky in 1990.[1] She studied abroad in Paris, France in 1989 with the University of Louisville, studying Fine Art and Architecture while abroad.
Matthews is known for her award-winning work that honors women and celebrates diversity and inclusion. She began her career as a painter and faculty member for the Louisville Visual Arts Association. She founded Wild Honeysuckle Studio in 1998,[1] which merged with Prometheus Bronze Foundry, LLC in 2009.[citation needed]
Matthews received her first grant as part of the Sister Cities International program and travelled to Mainz, Germany in 2006 to represent the City of Louisville, Kentucky and the United States during the tenure of Mayor Jerry Abramson. She participated in the Kunst in der Stadt, Kuenstlerarbeiten Public Exhibition at Gutenbergplatz, Mainz, Germany. Fourteen artists, two artists each from seven countries, were selected to participate. Her work while in Mainz was a permanent gift to the City of Mainz, Germany from the City of Louisville, KY.[citation needed] Later that year, she participated in the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Appalachian Mountain Witness Tour for Artists and Writers in the fall of 2006,[2] which marked the beginning of her decades-long body of large scale bronze Dryads, titled Messengers.[3] In 2007, on Earth Day, she completed a 210' long Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, called Water is Life for the Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, with the help of 20 volunteers. Diane Heilenman, Visual Arts Critic for the Courier Journal stated, "The work, 'Water is Life,' fits the context of all her sculptures and paintings, which are often about environmental issues."[4]
In 2015, she founded the Artemis Initiative, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity.[citation needed]
In 2018, her work honoring Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American female to receive White House and Congressional credentials, was unveiled at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.[5] The statue of Alice Dunnigan traveled extensively [6] and was featured for programming at Kentucky State University, University of Kentucky, and the Truman Presidential Library.[7] The bronze sculpture of Alice Dunnigan now permanently stands at the SEEK Museum in Russellville, KY, which was added to the United States civil rights trail in 2020.[8]
In 2019, she was selected to create a monumental sculptural installation titled, "The Girl Puzzle", in New York City on Roosevelt Island honoring investigative reporter Nellie Bly, which was planned to be unveiled in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, was completed and unveiled on December 10, 2021.[9][10]
On November 14, 2021, at Kentucky's COVID-19 Memorial Ceremony to mourn the over 10,000 Kentuckians who lost their life to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was announced that Matthews design proposal "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" (based on the Kentucky State Motto)[11] was chosen for the permanent Team KY COVID-19 Memorial Monument.[12][13][14]
Matthews is Nettie Depp’s great-great niece, and a bronze statue of Nettie created by Matthews was approved for display in the Kentucky Capitol. It is the first permanent large-scale monument of a woman inside that state capitol. While Nettie's influence was not statewide, the Historic Properties Advisory Commission considered her a representative example of Kentucky women who achieved professional and personal success. The statue’s unveiling occurred in November 2022.[15][16]
