Crista Van Slyck Matteson’s kiln cast glass speaks of her love for wild spaces and deep connection to the Pacific Northwest.Her time outside of the studio, is often spent hiking and skiing in the Cascades Mountains or paddling lakes, rivers, and the Salish Sea. An accomplished sculptor, she allows her finely-honed intuition to guide spontaneous sculpting of natural world observations. Matteson’s work also utilizes technical mold-making skills to create exact replicas of found botanicals and ocean creatures. She combines these skills to create magical-realist sculptures.
After receiving a BFA in Textiles from the California College of Art in San Francisco, she began her varied art career in Costume Design. Since then, her pursuit of fine art education has been relentless. Having won several merit scholarships, Matteson studied painting, glass casting and metal working at the Pratt Fine Art Center, and figure sculpting in the Sculpture Atelier at Gage Academy, both in Seattle. In 2018 and 2019, she studied at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington.
Matteson exhibits her work in fine art galleries, museums and public art installations across the US.Matteson’s unique sculptures have been recognized by a Collector’s Choice Award at Habatat Gallery’s International Glass Exhibit and Juror’s Choice Awards at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, the Schack Art Center, and at Pratt Fine Art Center’s annual auction.Additionally, her work was selected for the exhibition of notable glass work at the 2019 Pilchuck annual auction.
