Meet Randi Matushevitz

We recently connected with Randi Matushevitz and have shared our conversation below.

Randi, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is something I’ve always had and I got better at. I see resilience is an attitude and aptitude. My first memory is facing my fear at age 7, waiting in the lobby of the hospital that my Mom was in for a cancer surgery. In those years kids weren’t allowed up stairs and no security or adults I knew were around. I was on my own.

My career has led to other experiences in resilience. In 1997, after graduate school I was picked up by Leonora Vega Contemporary Art in Soho, NYC. By the early 2000’s I had multiple gallery representations, a traveling show, and a rotation of opportunities that kept me very busy with a sense of arrival and success that I thought would last. By 2008, the galleries, located in NY and Buenos Aires, closed. The first museum to collect my work closed. Devastating personal losses followed: the death of my father, the loss of a child and a decline in my health. I felt completely disconnected, the bubble had popped. I spent the next years healing and honing my craft. The result is the focus of my work to today a cathartic journey telling tales of struggle and survival through the experience of art, psychology, somatic experiencing and Iyengar yoga.

My career did pick up again. My family and I relocated to Los Angeles, where I have been able to connect to wonderful artists and art professionals. I am a recipient of the California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship – Emerging Artist, (AO) Los Angeles Performance Practice. I have attended Jentel Artist Residency in 2021 and am going to
Smpro Nap Residency in Cantabria, Spain in 2024. My message is to stay on the course, through the ups and downs, it will go up again. Find time to say, “It’s okay. It will be okay” and remember to breathe.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My artwork (visually and experientially) explores the emotional landscape that makes us human and connects us to each other despite our economic class or the shade of our skin, or our gender. In my artwork I mirror human behavior and emotional states of tension in order to create a sense of community. Through these images (and experiences) of trials and joys hoping to inspire resilience, release, a sense of belonging, and even healing.

My journey has many interweaving paths. One as the artist, the creator of exhibitions and experiences exploring human emotions, that are open to the public using mixed media drawing, video, installation, and performance. Another is Real Art for Real People, a social engagement project that puts original art in the hands of more people beyond economic barriers. The engagement is based in a dialogue between myself and the viewer about art access, interpretation, and ownership. Thirdly, my social/psychological journey for a better understanding of myself and others led me to train as a life coach, social emotional arts activity facilitator and therapeutic arts practitioner, each modality allows me to highlight the arts as a connective experience to self and community.

Together these interests allow me to travel, participate in residencies and workshops, exhibit my artwork, cultivate my visual language and engage with the public. Currently I am expanding Real Art for Real People. And, I am launching the Quietude Quotient, as a means of exploring recentering via arts modalities including rest. These public projects are reflective of my belief that diverse communities of ethical understanding can be created via shared revelations of personal and creative experiences.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Resilience, Stick-to-it-ness, and a desire to learn, followed by PATIENCE. Staying in the moment is my recipe for stamina, artistic development, and personal growth. All of the My advice is just do it. All the above build confidence, test our sense of self and our determination to find our purpose and lead a fulfilled life.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed I give myself a time out. Taking a break and being okay with it is a skill that has taken me years to develop. I’m a go go go kind of gal and it’s easy to burn out. Rest is Resistance is a book by Tricia Hersey, the founder of Nap Ministry. I listened to this book on audio tape and loved it. Her premise is that resting is essential to the human mind, body experience and crucial for creativity and focus. Rest is resistance because resting goes against the grind culture of a work till you drop philosophy that equates value with personal success. The reality is we need to be the definer of our own self worth.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Alison Michaela, Martin Cox, Randi Matushevitz

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