On Saturday, October 3, 2025 Neil Mattern (@chinecolle) completed his two-week Print+New Media residency with us!

Neil Mattern is a printmaker from Northeastern Pennsylvania whose work is highly detailed and rooted in everyday objects that define his life. Often featuring intricately cut and shaped compositions, his prints reflect a deep engagement with material and process. Drawing from a background in photography, Mattern transforms photographic references through his own hand and vision, blending technical precision with a personal perspective. His work also incorporates humor and lightheartedness, offering a balance between realism and playfulness. Mattern earned his undergraduate degree in printmaking from Kutztown University and began teaching art in Shanghai, China, in 2018. After returning to the U.S., he pursued graduate studies at Syracuse University, where he now teaches etching and relief printmaking. His practice spans a range of printmaking techniques, including copperplate etching, screen printing, and laser cutting. In addition to printmaking itself, he explores custom packaging as an extension of his artistic practice, reinforcing the identity of his brand, NeilMart—a future endeavor aimed at establishing a commercial printmaking and gallery business specializing in traditional fine art printmaking. His current series investigates food and raw ingredients, treating what he consumes as an extension of himself in a conceptual form of self-portraiture. By focusing on the physical materials that sustain him, he questions the relationship between identity and consumption. Throughout his career, Mattern has remained dedicated to printmaking’s tactile, labor-intensive nature, using it as a means to explore themes of personal identity, everyday life, and artistic craftsmanship. He will further develop this body of work during his artist residency at Alfred University.

“During my stay here, I finished two shaped-plate etching pieces. The first being a two-piece puzzle cut corn on the cob with a laser-cut chine-collé piece and the second, a large purple cabbage with rich à la poupée color. Both of these works fit into my growing collection of food etchings.”

To hear more about Neil’s work and time with the iea, view his artist talk and others on our YouTube channel here!

Neil sanding down a copper plate.

Copper plate and test print.

Etching at the park!

Neil inking plate.

In the spray booth!

Neil hand-cutting plate.