SOMERS — The University of Wisconsin-Parkside College of Arts and Humanities announces Roberto Torres Mata as the inaugurate artist for the artist-in-residence program for emerging artists.
The goal of the residency is to support early-career artists and provide first-rate facilities and instruction for our art-making communities in southeast Wisconsin.
Mata is a printmaker who finds inspiration in the centuries-long craft traditions of the indigenous cultures of the Americas. While specializing in printmaking, his work includes papermaking, installations and sculpture. A recent graduate, Mata earned both a master of arts and master of fine arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the mentorship of John Hitchcock. Mata was the 2021 Russell and Paula Panczenko MFA prize winner, an award offered annually by UW-Madison and the Chazen Museum of Art, which sponsor a solo show for the awardee at the museum.
Born in California to Mexican parents, Mata has spent considerable time in the Midwest, toggling back and forth between his culture of origin and the U.S. He notes that the Zapotec and Mixtec people from Oaxaca have served as inspiration and influenced his work. In “Untethered: Our Journey Beyond Borders,” his recent exhibition at the Chazen Museum of Art, Mata explored the idea of migration — both animals and peoples — highlighting the consequences of political and cultural dislocation while seeking a shared narrative that might inspire hope.