Having grown up around the barrier islands and salt marshes of Savannah Georgia, Matt Toole's love for dynamic forms that were shaped by time and the forces of nature became more than just a childhood fancy. He chose to pursue a career of intertwining art, nature, and teaching. Toole received a BFA from Georgia Southern University and an MFA from Southern Illinois University in 2000.  After school, Matt traveled throughout the U.S. and U.K. as a resident artist working on cast iron projects and creating performances dealing with the process of casting metal. Currently, he is a professor of Foundation Studies and Sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design, when not toiling away at his surreal metamorphic sculptures.

Part of what makes Toole's sculptural work so impressive is the effortless way in which he fuses disparate materials such as wood and metal together, encouraging the viewer's eye to focus on the seamless transitions between materials. In the process, he emphasizes unexpected visual connections - like the way that striations in wood and metal can become surprisingly similar or the fact that both substances can be strategically manipulated to absorb or reflect light.  A smooth stone that has worked its way down a mountain river over many years or the gnarled and twisted branches that have struggled to find light and water over decades may become the focus of Matt's attention. Or, conversely, industrial objects that tend to be more precise, mathematical and lifeless may needle their way into a piece. "The connection between the natural and the industrial is very important to me," he said. "I like the piece to move fluidly from one to the other." Ultimately, the incentive for his artwork is not to recreate nature or industry, but to showcase their similarities and fine details. Tool's pieces break free of static and stern compositions in favor of dynamic and/or kinetic arrangements.

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