“I had a dream about these lines and saw people coming in and out of them. It’s about the makeup of what we are and what we bring out from the energy that’s already there. Its like a representation of the psychological and emotional energy that is just present and how we draw them in and out of ourselves,” Mathus told the Dayton Daily News.
Additionally, Mathus said that he plans to give a talk at the library facilitated by the artist and choreographer Rodney Veal. The talk is set to be held on Jan. 11, 2026 on the second floor of the Dayton Metro Library’s Main Branch. Mathus plans to delve into the effect the Fauvist movement had on his artistic evolution.
“I’m always exploring the kind of Fauvist compositional system that I have here,” Mathus said about the European art movement inspired by African masks. “I feel there was a transfer of knowledge there from the African mask makers to Picasso and Matisse and then that traveled all the way to my teachers who come from that tradition, that lineage of artists. Then it was transferred to me.”
Preparations are already in place to make the show the best it can possibly be for library patrons.
“I’m taking them and making sure the wirings good, there’s no scrapes or anything like that, make sure everything is painted correctly. The paintings are painted. Its just a matter of gathering them, making sure there are no defects,” said Mathus.
Mathus began his career as an artist in the early 2000s. Since then, his work has appeared in multiple shows and galleries including The Emporium in Yellow Springs as well as the Middletown Arts Center. Additionally, the artist’s paintings have also travelled abroad, appearing in Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
“I didn’t imagine I’d get this far. One thing just evolved after another. I was just doing what I wanted to do which is painting,” Mathus said.
The Portland native and father of two credits the Dayton arts scene with introducing him to most of his friends.
“It’s a shared language that allows us to express ourselves in ways that most of the time most people cannot,” he said. “There’s more depth in the arts, more depth of feeling and you get to express parts of yourself that aren’t always expressible.”
“Being Seen” will lay Mathus’s diverse range of inspiration for viewers to enjoy. The urge to create, to explore is fundamental to his work.
“Someone sitting in the right position is inspiring. Somebody with the right level of light,” Mathus said. “I see imagery all day long that could be useful like the way the light comes in through the drapery during an afternoon. I think inspiration is a channel you tune into. I don’t think it’s a specific object that you look at.”
Since moving to Dayton, Mathus has proudly been a member of the city’s burgeoning arts scene.
“Dayton is the home of funk and there is a lot of creativity here and there has been a lot of creativity here in this part of the country for a very long time,” he said.
He believes not only can Dayton become a hub for creatives but more can be done to promote the great work already done in the city.
“More recognition of what is going on in the African American side of the arts,” Mathus said about his hopes for the future.
“I would also like to see more promotion of the arts that are here because so many people don’t even know Front Street exists. If you aren’t in the artworld it doesn’t really register for you. And I want it to be a hub. I want people to come here for the arts.”
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