Matt Dahl

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Matt Dahl, September 18, 1971, Austin, MN, is an American writer and artist known for his avant-garde approach to using everyday items and words in his creative works. He is a resident artist at Altered Esthetics art gallery in Minneapolis, MN. He also is the author of Butterfly Teardrops, a collection of short stories, poems and photography.

Dahl's artistic break came in 2006 in St. Paul, MN, when his work appeared alongside artist Jennifer Varien in a show called "For the love of...." Next his work was discovered by Altered Esthetics in Minneapolis, MN. His work first appeared in a show called Guerilla Art, where Dahl displayed a number of untitled photographs of homeless people in New York City. This caught the attention of Andrew Turpening, who was completing a humanitarian fellowship at the time through the University of Minnesota. One of the final projects of this project was a music video called Land of 10,000 Homeless (a play on words since Minnesota's motto is Land of 10,000 Lakes.) Turpening used many of Dahl's photos both in his music video as well as at an event that brought attention to the problem of homelessness in the Twin Cities metro.
Since his intial reception into the art world, Dahl has gone on to become a Resident Artist at Altered Esthetics. His next exhibition was the Art of Service, an exhibit that gathered the works of 20 artists, providing a glimpse into the everyday nuances of the service industry. Dahl told the Minnesota Daily, "We take it for granted that fresh vegetables should cost less than $3 per pound, our food should be ready in 30 minutes or less and the person bringing it should have a smile on their face." Dahl has been invited back to numerous other shows, including Art Reincarnated, All American X-mas, and a special series for Resident Artists.

Published Work
Butterfly Teardrops, 2002. ISBN 1-59196-159-9.
Metropolitan Forum, February 24, 2000. "To Smoke a Cigarette."
Beginnings (Illiad Press), 1997. "The Sacred Cloud of the Half-Right."
American Poetry Annual (The Amherst Society), 1996. "Leaving My Cocoon."
Moments of Reflection (Poetry Guild), 1997. "Astrophile."

References
City Pages, February 9, 2006
voicesofthestreets.org
Minnesota Daily, February 8, 2007
http://www.alteredesthetics.com/user_infos/119_matt_dahl
http://en. .org/wiki/Give_Us_Your_Poor
iCan News Service, January 22, 2003.
MatthewBDahl.com

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