Dvořák, off the Jupiter pack, is 36"x36" with a 1.75" cradle, acrylic on canvas. The creation of this piece occurred while listening to nothing but Dvořák. "Off the Pack" is a head nod to the use of cannabis. The design that came through is one of a flowing, almost gaseous-like substance that appears as if its Jupiter or a Gas giant— this is indicative of the psycho-emotional state I was in in creating this; there is a weight, intensity, and depth to it, like much of Dvořák’s work. But even within all of that is the power of creation, almost a Yoni, as one observer made. Currently in posession of a private owner
Sols Anvil, 48”Lx36W” 1.75 cradle, acrylic on wood This piece was created in the summer of 2023 after I moved apartments; the building I moved from was peculiar, it just felt weird. This piece came after that, settling into my new place, with Funk and Soul from the 60s-80s pulsating through the air. In effect, one might call it a self-portrait; within it, you might be able to see both ominous and hopeful feelings and perceptions, a grounded weight yet flight.
Higgs
About the Art
My work is an exploration of what might be called contextual expressionism, a meeting point between my internal world and the external, whether it be interpersonal relationships or global events. In doing so, they are a presentation and reflection of the context in which their creation exists, forcing the world and those observing my work to see the world, the context in which they exist, including both the good and the bad.
I see this work as a response to art as an aesthetic during a time of rising fascism, destruction, anti-intellectualism, AI slop, and genocide. In doing so, they have become a masculine act of creation, when masculinity is being presented as domination. Each piece, with music woven into its DNA, is injected with the emotionally expressive weight of my subjective interaction and observations of our shared existence.
While rejecting the rot of the modern world through expressionism, they compel observers to confront the complex emotions of simply being, learning to feel and express freely, instead of practicing avoidance of our world.
Every piece is signed as Higgs. Higgs from Higginbotham, Matthew's paternal lineage, a rich history of Civil Rights, liberation, and the struggle of the African Diaspora. Finding meaning, soul, and a people in the attempt to capture and erase those very things.
Higgs is the Higgs Boson, the particle that gives things mass. Without it, all this space and existence would have no mass.
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Matthew Braunginn (Higgs) is a self-taught artist from Madison, Wisconsin. He started painting in 2017, as he had to step away from activism due to the emergence of a chronic illness. Becoming a self-taught painter was a surprise in how it drew him in. Much of his work falls within a non-objective, contextual approach to abstract expressionism, utilizing oils and acrylics.
It has become so much, with each painting created within a musical soundscape filled with Jazz, R&B, Soul, Funk, and Hip-Hop. Infused not just these musical movements and feelings into each piece but his own complex emotions as I process the world around me.
Within his works, he sees these as a masculine act of creation during a time of renewed destruction within a masculine form. He also pulls his experiences coming from a mixed-race family, injecting the abstractness of Black music within his art. Yet, while his works are a part of his self-expression and creation, their existence shifts depending on each observer.
Primordially Lush 40"L x 30W, 1.75 cradle acrylic, mixed-mediums on wood Made during the end of 2022, and the beginning of 2023, a period of renewal, rebirth, a new job, a new year, and a scheme for a week in the Caribean with the two Jac(k)ies was afoot. Yusef Lateef was a common visitor during this period, “A Love Theme From Spartica” especially so. In looking at this piece, it feels ancient, and old, you might end up lost in a jungle; if you keep moving, maybe you’ll find that temple you’ve been looking for.
A Broken Land, 36”x36”, 1.75” cradle Acrylic on Wood This piece is one part of a larger series of paintings created to Andre 3000s, New Blue Sun, an ethereal flute album through the fall of 2023. A time where the tides of fascism rose and genocide exploded in Palestine (and many other places across the globe), a blood moon, a blood hand, our home, and our land…where are we going?
