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Matthew Suib: Cocked

multiple close-up images in a grid depicting the faces and eyes of cowboys from old western movies

January 3 through April 12, 2026

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, January 3 from 7-10PM

Produced during the height of international debate surrounding the United States’ initiative to invade Iraq, Cocked examines and deconstructs the quintessential American mythology of the Western. By expanding and sustaining the traditionally brief cinematic moment ––The Showdown–– the work denies its protagonists the redemption typically achieved through acts of violence. Instead, the extended psychodrama unfolds in a collapsed desert panorama—a metaphorical psychological space where every gesture, glance, and posture conveys a volatile mix of aggression and fear, leaving nothing resolved.

In today’s context, Cocked resonates with ongoing tensions, offering a lens through which to reflect on the cyclical nature of power, intervention, and unresolved conflicts. The work’s exploration of fear and aggression mirrors the complexities of contemporary geopolitics, where ideological and economic struggles continue to shape narratives of dominance and resistance.

Cocked is part of the ReVisionist Cinema series, which reworks classic films by directors like DeMille and Hitchcock. The piece was sourced from VHS, DVD, and rare Laserdisc titles and is part of the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where it was most recently exhibited.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Philadelphia-based artist Matthew Suib has created videos, films, immersive installations and public artworks that have been exhibited internationally for over 25 years at venues including PS1/MoMA, the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art and collected by institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Since 2008, he has collaborated with his wife Nadia Hironaka. They are recipients of several honored awards including a 2015 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, Pew Fellowships in the Arts and Fellowships from CFEVA and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Their work has been widely exhibited both domestically and abroad at venues including, Fondazione MAXXI (Rome), New Media Gallery (Vancouver), The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), UCLA Hammer Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Arizona State University Art Museum. They have been artists-in-residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts, the Banff Centre, Marble House Project and the Millay Colony for Arts. Matthew Suib is co-founder of the creative/design studio Greenhouse Media. Hironaka & Suib are represented by Locks Gallery, Philadelphia. The couple, along with their daughter and two cats reside in South Philly.