Taken by Julienne Schaer
Darrell Matsumoto, born in Hilo, Hawaii, is widely acclaimed and exhibited, and is in such collections as the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, William Benton Museum of Art, Franklin Furnace Archive at MoMA, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Light Work, En Foco Collection, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, and Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned his BFA in Art from the University of Hawaii, Manoa and his MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Art and Design, and Gallery Director at Anna Maria College. He arrived in 2016 after spending over a decade teaching at Chester College of New England, serving as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography, Media Arts & Design. He has also taught at Rhode Island School of Design, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Roger Williams University, Hamilton College and University of Vermont.
Matsumoto has served as a juror for the State of Connecticut Individual Artist Fellowship, photography category. He has also juried several photography exhibitions in Rhode Island and New York state.
Matsumoto has been invited as a Visiting Critic at several universities and colleges to review and critique student work including the Interior Design Department at Rhode Island School of Design, School of Architecture, Art & Historic Preservation at Roger Williams University, and the Art Department at the University of Rhode Island.
Matsumoto has been the recipient of an En Foco New Works Photography Award, a Diverse Forms Artist Project Grant, and a Light Work Photographers Grant. He has also received national and regional awards for his photographic work.
The Feminine, 2019
color photography, archival pigment print 32″x 30″
Artist Statement
As an artist I am an observer – maker. Sometimes I begin with a concept, an idea. Sometimes I begin with an object, found, bought, or received. Sometimes I begin with a word, a phrase, a recollection, or a story. Wherever one begins – the idea, the object, or words – they find their place in the work. It is imperative that as a practicing artist, I am in constant research mode, I am always reading, looking, observing. Another critical aspect is to cultivate your intuition. How do you grow your process? You must be in a constant state of making. The third, perhaps the most important is patience.
I attempt to make work that can engage and seduce, to report, to explicate. Making work that engages the viewer on multiple levels is critical to me. I am interested in making metaphors. I admire the elegance of haiku, however I am drawn to opera. If it were possible the synthesis of haiku and opera is the work I aspire to make.
Part of Growing the NetWorks
This artist was selected by a past NetWorks Rhode Island participant as part of Growing the NetWorks — a 2025 exhibition presented by WaterFire Providence, at the WaterFire Arts Center, celebrating peer-nominated artists from across Rhode Island. Learn more at waterfire.org/growingthenetworks
Highlighting the work of selected artists who have played vital roles in shaping the contemporary visual arts community in Rhode Island. This collection of brief video portraits provides a window into the lives, practices, and cultural contributions of professional artists.
