FITZKE

Matthew Fitzke was born in Mankato, Minnesota in 1979. He studied at Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa where he recieved a degree in Graphic Design in 2002. It wasn’t until 2007 that he began exploring painting and not until a year later when he really began painting regularly.

Inspired by the works of Patrick Nagel and exploring themes of beauty, unrequited love, desire, sadness, longing and the desire for finding some kind of peace amidst the scars that heartbreak can produce. He best describes his style as “painting shadows” where he reduces the subject down to simplified shapes and highlighted with color. Imagine viewing someone by flickering candle light, where their fine facial features are obscured by darkness and shadow, but what remains is a sort of ghost or shade of what once was and what is still desired.

Fitzke had his first solo exhibition in 2011 with Altered Esthetics Gallery in Northeast Minneapolis. Followed by two more at Level Salon and Sanctuary Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. He was also a regular participant in the Pancakes & Booze Art Show from 2010-2015, one of the largest pop-up live music & arts movements in North America.

His art can also be found on display for sale at the Staples Saw Mill in Stillwater, Minnesota.