Memory Meets Detail: The Work Of Matt Bianchi

Matthew Bianchi’s drawings invite viewers into a world where childhood imagination, history, and meticulous observation coexist. Working primarily in pen, ink, and watercolor, Bianchi creates densely detailed images populated by familiar characters from children’s literature, animation, and popular culture, reimagined and set into new relationships with history, industry, and memory.

Matt joined Project Onward in 2013. He considers his place in the studio as “my very own place to be seen in the circleness of life,” a place where his talent and curiosity can unfold freely. He works carefully and intentionally, often beginning with clean white paper, brown cardboard, or paper bags. Surfaces matter to Matt. He is deliberate about where art belongs, a lesson rooted in childhood memories of drawing on walls and learning boundaries. That awareness now translates into a deep respect for materials and process.

His influences are vast and unapologetically expansive. Matt draws inspiration from children’s picture books, fantasy stories, computer and video games, Walt Disney animations, Blue’s Clues, animals, and online image archives. These sources are not copied but studied, absorbed, and transformed. Characters from animated films take on new identities, interacting with figures of Matt’s own invention. Each drawing becomes a meeting place between memory and reinvention.

"There Goes The Beanstalk" by Matt Bianchi

Alongside fantasy and childhood imagery, Matt holds a profound interest in history. He is especially drawn to American railroads and World Wars I and II, subjects he explores through books, online research, and close visual study, sometimes with the help of a brass and wooden magnifying glass. For Matt, history is grounding. “I like history more than imagination,” he explains. It offers a way to trace the journey of the world, from ancient understandings of the universe to the present day. In his work, historical imagery exists in quiet tension with innocence, creating scenes that feel both familiar and unexpected.

Although Matt proudly identifies as a transportation buff, fascinated by freight trains, cargo ships, airplanes, tugboats, and even mythical or animal-powered vehicles, Matt rarely draws trains themselves. The reason is practical and telling: trains contain “125,000 billion details.” This attention to detail speaks volumes about Matt’s process. He is acutely aware of complexity, and his choices reflect careful consideration rather than limitation.

"Aerial Utopia" by Matt Bianchi

Storytelling plays an important role in Matt’s drawings, even if the narratives don’t follow traditional structures. He combines figures like Humpty Dumpty reimagined as “Humpty Alexander Dumpty, the normal human-sized old egg”, with songs, videos, and layered references. His work mirrors how memory functions: nonlinear, associative, and emotionally charged.

When asked what he hopes people feel when they look at his art, Matt’s answer is simple and sincere. He wants people to feel glad. His drawings are an attempt to communicate memories, interests, and emotions, both happy and sad. Art as a way of describing the things he loves most and sharing them with others.

Matthew Bianchi’s work challenges viewers to set aside expectations and meet the artwork on its own terms. By blending childhood imagery with history, fantasy with fact, and meticulous detail with emotional openness, Matt creates a visual language that is uniquely his own. At Project Onward, his voice is not only supported—it is celebrated.