Amanda Matthews was born in 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended Bullitt East High School in Mt. Washington, Kentucky and graduated in 1986. Matthews earned her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. She studied abroad in Paris, France in 1989 with the University of Louisville, studying Fine Art and Architecture while abroad.
Career
Matthews is known for her award-winning work that honors women and celebrates diversity and inclusion. In 2019, she was selected to create a monumental sculptural installation titled, "The Girl Puzzle", in New York City on Roosevelt Island honoring investigative reporterNellie Bly, which will be completed in 2020. In 2018, her work honoring Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American female to receive White House and Congressional credentials, was unveiled at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Matthews began her career as a painter and faculty member for the Louisville Visual Arts Association. She founded Wild Honeysuckle Studio in 1998, which merged with Prometheus Bronze Foundry, LLC in 2009. Matthews received her first grant as part of the Sister Cities International program and travelled to Mainz, Germany in 2006 to represent the City of Louisville, Kentucky and the United States during the tenure of Mayor Jerry Abramson. She participated in the Kunst in der Stadt, Kuenstlerarbeiten Public Exhibition at Gutenbergplatz, Mainz, Germany. Fourteen artists, two artists each from seven countries, were selected to participate. Her work while in Mainz was a permanent gift to the City of Mainz, Germany from the City of Louisville, KY. Later that year, she participated in the Kentuckians for the CommonwealthAppalachian Mountain Witness Tour for Artists and Writers in the fall of 2006, which marked the beginning of her decade-long body of large scale bronze Dryads, titled Messengers. In 2007, on Earth Day, she completed a 210' long Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, called Water is Life for the Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, with the help of 20 volunteers. Diane Heilenman, Visual Arts Critic for the Courier Journal stated, "The work, 'Water is Life,' fits the context of all her sculptures and paintings, which are often about environmental issues." In 2015, she founded the Artemis Initiative, an IRS approved 501 Public Charity.
Selected public works and collections
2019-2020: Monumental Sculptural Installation honoring Investigative Journalist, Nellie Bly, New York City, Roosevelt Island, titled "The Girl Puzzle" at Lighthouse Park,
2016–2019: Life Size Bronze Portrait of Alice Allison Dunnigan for Russellville, Kentucky
2014: Life Size Ancient Greek Boxer Olympian Bronze Reproduction, Jasmine Hill Gardens, a Public Botanical & Sculpture Garden & Museum, Montgomery, Alabama, Permanent Collection
2007: Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, 210' Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, Water is Life
2006: City of Mainz, Germany Permanent Collection
Public mentions and media
2020 - Smithsonian Magazine: The Must-See Outdoor Art Installations of 2020Amanda Matthews' The Girl Puzzle, New York City, listed 3rd on worldwide list of 9
2019 - C-SPAN: African American Journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, Dr. Nancy Dawson, Amanda Matthews, Soraya Dunnigan presented
2018 - NATIONAL: Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman To Cover White House, Gets Statue At Newseum, NPR, All Things Considered
2018 - Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman to Cover White House, Will Get Statue at Newseum, The New York Times
2017 - Kentucky Historic Properties Advisory Commission approves life-size sculpture of Nettie Depp for Kentucky Capitol
2016 – Dunnigan to be honored with bronze statue
2016 – Aviation Museum to unveil bronze sculpture of aviation pioneer Van Meter
2015 – Lexington sculptor seeks – and starts creating – more statues of notable Kentucky women, minorities, Lexington Herald Leader, Lexington, KY
2015 – Appeared in Documentary Film, Dreamers and Doers: VOICES of Kentucky Women
2015 – Restored Gratz Park 'kids' return to James Lane Allen fountain
2013 – Dr. George Zach bronze portrait unveiled at Singletary Center for the Arts, in Lexington, KY, University of Kentucky Art Museum Permanent Collection
2010 – Stephen Elrod Memorial bronze sculpture unveiled at Georgetown College
April 22, 2007 – Water is Life Ephemeral Environmental Art Installation at the Louisville Zoo, Courier Journal, Critics Pick by Diane Heilenman, visual art critic
July 2006 – Amanda Matthews work featured in Germany's Der Mainzer Magazine
May 2006 – Art World News magazine lists Amanda Matthews on their Artists Worth Watching list.
