Searchlight Pictures
Centre du Rat
November 19th 2025 – December 5th 2025
Marc Matchak, Arthur Michaud, Sean Pearl
Curated by Max Keene and Alexa Hawksworth
Sean Pearl
Untitled (Heart with Wings and Crown) (2025)
Encre sur papier dans un cadre d’artiste
9.75x12x1.5”
Arthur Michaud
La Cigogne (2025)
Encre sur papier
9×12.5”
Marc Matchak
From the Desk of Doris Day (1949/2025)
Graphite sur enveloppe trouvée
5.5×7.5”
Marc Matchak
From the Desk of Showtime Pictures (1949/2025)
Graphite sur enveloppe trouvée
5.5×7.5”
The artists included in this show were given the prompt to produce a work that dealt with mail and travel. The works themselves had to fit into a standardized envelope or package. The three artists have never met but have arrived at the same destination, like strangers on a train.
Marc Matchak is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s currently working on his MFA at CUNY Harlem. We were taken with the 2017 short film he co-directed called Lebenswirklichkeit, which was recommended to us by Arthur. We first met Marc in the fall of 2024 and since then have been in correspondence. Marc has been collecting head shots of silver screen movie stars with the signature forged by a studio secretary. He used two pieces of original postage that came with these headshots as a surface for his drawings.
Arthur Michaud est un artiste qui habite ici à Montréal, Québec. Nous sommes amis avec Arthur depuis plusieurs années et nous admirons toujours ses nombreux talents. Récemment il a fait un clip vidéo pour une chanson d’Alix, notre généreuse hôte. Cet été, alors qu’il voyageait en Europe, Arthur nous a envoyé depuis la Pologne son œuvre réalisée à Paris. Depuis l’année passée, Max et Arthur discutent d’une collaboration artistique utilisant des effets optiques inspirés du précinéma. Les œuvres d’ombres forment une première incarnation de cette idée.
Sean Pearl is an artist based in London, England. We both loved his etchings so much that we got them for each other for our birthdays without realizing. We initially thought of him for the show when we saw a plane sculpture he made, and the sculptural aspect of his work comes through in the parcel-like frame he made for his piece.
We needed to respond to the exhibition space we found to present the work, and found it a little ironic that we were making a show in a basement that involved flight. This got us thinking about that obscure period between departure and arrival. In this period, one can fantasize about the desirable destination while being just out of reach. We augmented the light and sound of the space to magnify this feeling.
We hope you enjoy the show,
Max & Alexa