Matt McCormick (multimedia artist)
Matt McCormick (born 1987) is an American self-taught multimedia artist based in New York and Los Angeles. His work reinterprets motifs of the American West cowboys, neon signs, and desert landscapes through painting, drawing, tapestry, and sculpture, often incorporating pop culture figures and commentary on masculinity, nostalgia, and digital culture.
McCormick began his career as a tattoo artist, working with musicians including Tyler, the Creator and Mac Miller, before transitioning to fine art and fashion. He is the founder of the clothing brand One Of These Days and has collaborated with Stetson, Fender, and AllRightsReserved on limited-EDition collections.
Early life and education
McCormick was born in San Francisco in 1987. He is self-taught and developed his visual style through tattooing in Los Angeles during the 2010s.
Career
Transition to fine art
McCormick shifted from tattooing to multimedia art around 2018. His early paintings drew from Western Americana and pop culture, influenced by artists such as Raymond Pettibon and Richard Prince. By 2019, he was exhibiting in Los Angeles and New York, with works featured in the NBA Artist Series during Miami Art Week.
Exhibitions
McCormick has held solo exhibitions internationally, including:
- Lead Me Not Into Temptation at OMNI, London (2022)
- Faith at Villa Navarra, Le Muy, France (2024), exploring belief systems in the digital age.
His work has also appeared in group shows at the Long Beach Museum of Art, Beyond the Streets (Shanghai), and galleries in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Miami, and Aspen.
Themes and style
McCormick’s art juxtaposes traditional Western imagery with contemporary pop culture figures such as Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson to examine contradictions in American identity, masculinity, and media saturation. He has discussed using nostalgia as a lens for cultural critique while balancing creative freedom and commercial appeal.
Fashion and design work
In 2020, McCormick launched One Of These Days, a clothing brand that translates his Western aesthetic into apparel and accessories. He collaborated with Stetson on a capsule collection in 2022, with proceeds supporting Education Through Music Los Angeles, and designed custom Fender guitars. His tapestries and rugs produced with AllRightsReserved have been featured in Highsnobiety.
Reception
McCormick's work has been praised for its fusion of Western nostalgia and pop-culture irony. Clash (2022) described his London solo show Lead Me Not Into Temptation as a commentary on temptation and Americana that feels both timeless and contemporary. Hypebeast (2024) noted that his Faith exhibition interrogates belief systems in the digital age.
His NBA Artist Series pieces featuring Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan were highlighted by Uproxx for making fine art as engaging as sports fandom.
Personal life
McCormick maintains studios in Downtown Los Angeles and New York. He has spoken publicly about his sobriety and its influence on his creative discipline.
See also
- Contemporary art
- Western art
- Tattoo
- Fashion design
External links
- Matt McCormick on Artsy