MATT DRISSELL
  • About
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    • Contact Matt
  • Paintings
    • Of system of elements
    • Externalities
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    • Domestic Disturbance
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    • Morituri Te Salutant
    • Weeds
    • MFA Thesis Series

of system of elements

Does Not Play (Hydrogen)
2019
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Effect is Underway (Carbon)
2021
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Build Up the Bases (Nitrogen)
2021
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Two Billion Years Ago (Oxygen)
2021
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On the Side of (Phosphorus)
2021
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Known for Destroying (Sulfur)
2021
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Strong Smell of Radishes (Sulfur)
2021
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Glasses and Glass (Lithium)
2019
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We are Constantly Losing (Sodium)
2021
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They Skimmed Around (Potassium)
2021
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It Behaved Oddly (Rubidium)
2021
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One Second in Fifteen Million (Caesium)
2021
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She Was Accepted (Francium)
2019
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Might Harbour (Beryllium)
2019
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Plaster in the Tomb (Calcium)
2019
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Plants to Capture (Magnesium)
2019
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Remote Weather Stations (Strontium)
2021
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Some Unusual Pebbles (Barium)
2021
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Too Hazardous To (Radium)
2021
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There Was a Gap (Scandium)
2021
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Was Still Hiding (Yttrium)
2021
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Paint Artists' Paint (Titanium)
2019
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When Cut Resemble (Zirconium)
2021
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Drawn into Wires (Hafnium)
2019
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Has Been Justified (Rutherfordium)
2021
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Essential to Some (Vanadium)
2019
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Engines and Rockets (Niobium)
2021
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Caps for Supersonic (Tantalum)
2021
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Different Names (Dubnium)
2021
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Intrigued By the Range (Chromium)
2021
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Fixing Bacteria (Molybdenum)
2019
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String More Projection (Tungsten)
2019
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Atoms Per Hour (Seaborgium)
2021
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Workability and Resistance (Manganese)
2019
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Be Present (Technetium)
2019
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To the Extent of About (Rhenium)
2021
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Credible Submission (Bohrium)
2021
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In the Blood (Iron)
2021
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Never to be Verified (Ruthenium)
2021
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String More Projection (Osmium)
2021
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Was Considered More (Hassium)
2021
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Contained a Hirtherto (Cobalt)
2019
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Elements and Headlight (Rhodium)
2021
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Wiped Out the Dinosaurs (Iridium)
2021
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Iron Ions After (Meitnerium)
2019
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Arrived with Meteorites (Nickel)
2021
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Full and Convincing Account (Palladium)
2021
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And Was No Doubt (Platinum)
2021
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Evidence Was Deemed (Darmstadtium)
2021
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Worked By People (Copper)
2021
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Where Appearance is Important (Silver)
2021
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In a Natural State (Gold)
2021
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Failed to Detect (Roentgenium)
2021
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Rajasthan Testifies (Zinc)
2019
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Before the Dangers (Cadmium)
2021
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Accumulate in the Flesh (Mercury)
2021
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Like a Noble (Copernicium)
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Almost Impossible (Boron)
2019
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Among the First Tools (Silicon)
2021
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Refraction and Dispersion (Germanium)
2021
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Very Very Low Doses (Arsenic)
2021
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Mascara and Known (Antimony)
2019
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Went Largely Unnoticed (Tellurium)
2021
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Curious Metal Ornament (Aluminum)
2021
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Vaporize a Thermometer (Gallium)
2021
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Look at the Spectrum (Indium)
2021
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The Mountain Citadel (Tin)
2021
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Disturbs the Development (Thallium)
2021
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Tissues and Bones (Lead)
2019
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Being Crafted in the Metal (Bismuth)
2021
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Heat for Space (Polonium)
2021
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Present it is (Nihonium)
2021
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Despite Several Attempts (Flerovium)
2021
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Scientists From the Joint (Moscovium)
2021
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Concocted By One (Livermorium)
2021
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Added to Drinking (Fluorine)
2021
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Balance the Positive (Chlorine)
2019
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Deduced was a New (Bromine)
2019
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Sublimes to Form a Purple (Iodine)
2021
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Demands of the Manhattan (Astatine)
2021
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USA and Oak (Tennessine)
2021
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Similar to Sunlight (Lanthanum)
2021
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Will Make Sparks (Cerium)
2019
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Intense and Unusually Clean (Praseodymium)
2021
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Miniaturize Many (Neodymium)
2019
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In the Andromeda (Promethium)
2019
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This Was Suspected (Samarium)
2019
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By the Lack of This Red (Europium)
2021
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Excellent at Absorbing (Gadolinium)
2021
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This Was Not the End (Terbium)
2021
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Separate the Rare (Dysprosium)
2019
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Processed to Extract (Holmium)
2019
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Amplified by Including (Erbium)
2021
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It Must Contain Yet (Thulium)
2021
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Principally In (Ytterbium)
2019
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Catalyst for Cracking (Lutetium)
2019
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Excites the Air (Actinium)
2021
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Probably More Energy (Thorium)
2021
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Existed Only Fleetingly (Protactinium)
2021
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Military to Power (Uranium)
2019
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Unusual Beta-Rays (Neptunium)
2021
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On Its Way to Pluto (Plutonium)
2021
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Natural Nuclear (Americium)
2021
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Scientist on the Radio (Curium)
2019
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Target in Acid (Berkelium)
2021
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Toxic Due (Californium)
2019
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Capture and Decay (Einsteinium)
2021
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On a Pacific Atoll (Fermium)
2021
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Possible to Produce (Mendelevium)
2021
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No Uses Outside (Nobelium)
2019
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Successfully Bombarded (Lawrencium)
2019
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Continuing Escaping (Helium)
2019
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Glows a Reddish (Neon)
2019
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Fill the Space Between (Argon)
2021
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During the Cold War (Krypton)
2021
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Glow When Excited (Xenon)
2019
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Escaping From the Ground (Radon)
2021
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Will Be Updated (Oganesson)
2021
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My Grandfather was a chemist, working 40 years in the industry, first as an analytical chemist with Mallinckrodt Chemical, and later as president and CEO of Forma Scientific. I fondly recall his stories of these experiences – learning German in order to read the only chemistry textbooks available in the 1950’s, or his travels as a salesman hawking chemicals from a briefcase. Being an art professor has led me in a different direction distant from the chemistry lab; my explorations take place in the art studio.
 
And yet, this project brings chemistry and visual art together. To begin with, the art making media itself is rooted in the lab – its resonance and permanence are thanks to chemists and their creativity. I then draw with the charcoal, graphite, and ink, creating lines and shapes that suggest atoms and structures, biology and industry. Subsequent colors are added indirectly with thin layers of paints, further enhancing and defining the imagery. Many of the marks and glazes are not intended to be literal representation but instead abstracted suggestions of the element's potential.
 
This tension between complexity and clarity well describes chemistry and visual art – both explore mystery. This series, Of System of Elements, commissioned by the Dordt University Chemistry Department, is a tribute to all who undertake this endeavor.
 

© 2023 Matt Drissell
  • About
    • News
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Contact Matt
  • Paintings
    • Of system of elements
    • Externalities
    • Shelf Life
    • Other Works
  • Works on Paper
    • Domestic Disturbance
    • The Flock
    • Morituri Te Salutant
    • Weeds
    • MFA Thesis Series