Artist Statement - Cole Byerly

When choosing the artist that I wanted to focus on for my shoes, I felt connected to Henri Matisse’ use of bright and vivid colors, as well as the sense of abstractness that he portrayed in his work. His art is fun and unique to his own style, which captivated me. The first piece I chose to use on my shoe was The Snail. Although this may look like an array of brightly colored shapes, the curvature of them creates a swirl similar to the shell of an actual snail. Even though I started creating these shoes before the pandemic hit, the vivid colors used in many of his pieces such as The Snail remind me of positivity and the light at the end of the tunnel, or when we can eventually return to our normal way of life. The side of the one shoe that has several goldfish was included due to Matisse’ use of many goldfish in his art. These goldish that are included on this shoe are the same fish that appear in at least nine other works of his, including one of his most well-known compositions, Goldfish (which is very cleverly named). Many of Matisse’ works were very abstract in the sense that they were made very freely and to his emotion when he created them. He used organic lines and designs to make a one of a kind piece, which inspired me to paint my own version similar to what he would do himself. I included bright colors as well as original and unique lines with eccentric shapes. On the same shoe with that design, I recreated my favorite composition of Matisse’, and painted The Cat with Red Fish. Ever since I was little I remember begging my parents for a cat because I always loved the ones my friends had, which is why I feel so connected to this piece. In this composition, we see a yellow cat reaching into a bowl of goldfish, which represents the curiosity and mischievousness of cats. Overall, I believe Henri Matisse created innovative and imaginative art that conveys happiness and optimism, which I wanted to exhibit in these shoes with brilliant colors and memorable recreations of his work.