Matthew Warren King (September 6, 1984 – July 9, 2022) was an American artist and co-founder of

Meow Wolf Meow Wolf is an American arts and entertainment company that creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations. Founded in 2008, its flagship attraction, ''House of Eternal Return'' in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a facility, which i ...

, where he worked as senior vice president of creative direction until his death in July 2022. A native of

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, King was based in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

Early life

King was born on 6 September 1984, to Mitzi King and Randy King, and was raised in Arlington, Texas. King attended high school and junior college before deciding that college was not right for him. Before co-founding Meow Wolf, he worked as an art handler, landscaper and food delivery person.

Career

King began his career as a painter, and when living in Texas he taught outdoor education to grade-school children in Dallas-Fort Worth, and had plans to open a summer camp. In addition to his work as a visual artist, King was also a multi-instrumentalist musician. He moved to Santa Fe in 2007. In 2008, he created his first immersive artwork, ''Meowzors,'' with other artists in the collective. King has been described as a "self-educated philosopher who studies hermeticism and wanted to bring people together with his art." King was part of the collaborative team of artists that launched Meow Wolf in 2008. He developed or co-developed 34 Meow Wolf projects including House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe and

Omega Mart Omega Mart is an interactive art installation created by American arts company Meow Wolf and located in the Area15 complex in Las Vegas. Those entering the installation explore a supermarket, from which they can access various other areas and u ...

in Las Vegas, as well as being the lead artist on ''The Cathedral'' at Meow Wolf Denver. He was a lead artist on many interactive artworks including the ''Laser Harp'' installation and the ''Fancy Town'' at the House of Eternal Return. The ''Fancy Town'' installation doubles as an event venue, and has the appearance of an

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made of recycled scrap wood and construction waste. King described it as “Turning your capitalistic trash into freedom of expression.” King constructed the surrounding walls to have the appearance of old storefronts.

Meow Wolf

King participated in the first meeting of the Meow Wolf art collective in 2008. During the early years, King and his collaborators created surreal and futuristic immersive art environments, and hosted music shows and events. In 2015,

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pledged $2.7 million dollars for a long-term lease and renovation of a vacant bowling alley in Santa Fe for the collective to develop a permanent interactive museum. By 2022, the company had grown to 980 employees, with a revenue of $158 million, and had served more than 1.5 million visitors. King was involved with over 34 Meow Wolf projects, many as the lead artist. Meow Wolf had announced, in May 2022, two new permanent interactive exhibition spaces in Houston and

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Death

Matt King died by suicide in Santa Fe on July 9, 2022 at age 37. He was survived by his fiancée, Meow Wolf colleague Han Santana-Sayles, his mother, and a brother.

References

External links

Matt King online list of projects and works
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Matt 1984 births 2022 deaths Artists from Texas Artists from New Mexico People from Arlington, Texas People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico