A Pittsburgh blue-collar work ethic helped Matt Gondek in his art career after moving to Los Angeles — perhaps too much for his own good.
“I have a lot of the blue-collar work ethic where I just feel like I have to grind, grind, grind, and I went through a period of time where I had everything in the world given to me that I’ve ever wanted, but I was also a drug addict during it,” Gondek tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “And I spent some time getting clean. And then I spent a lot of my time now just trying to realize that I just want to be happy at this point and want to spend some time for myself and rediscover who I am.
The self-described “deconstructive pop artist” is taking a break for the next year or so, but not before making a splash as the subject in the first episode of a documentary series produced by The Andy Warhol Museum. He also confirmed to City Paper that he has a video game project in the works.
Gondek, 42, has, over his roughly 20-year career, caught the attention of those in the art world. He has amassed 287,000 followers on Instagram, and his artwork has been featured in solo and group exhibits in Pittsburgh and around the world in L.A., Detroit, Hong Kong, and Paris.
The artwork, defined by saturated colors and harsh, black lines, portrays pop culture characters in an often disturbing light. Mickey Mouse stabs one of his friends, Homer Simpson’s head blows up to reveal his skull, Bowser punches Mario’s eyeball out of his head.
“People lose themselves, who they are, into these brands. They let these brands represent their personality. And I’m trying to destroy these icons because you need to reclaim who you are,” Gondek says. “It’s very important to me to be myself and to nurture who I am and what I’ve done with my life, and I don’t think a lot of people do that anymore.”
Michael Petrella of The Warhol Creative, described as the museum’s “boutique production studio,” directed the documentary short film, Life, Art & Legacy: Matt Gondek. Tickets sold out for two evening screenings on April 4 at the museum.
The film includes footage of Gondek at his L.A. studio and back home in Pittsburgh, where he shows the crew where he painted murals. Transitions between certain shots include animation inspired by Gondek’s style.
“We’re very happy that he was so generous with his time because I think we shot with him for three full days, and that’s a lot to ask of somebody, especially from somebody as busy as Matt is,” Petrella tells CP. “But he was very generous with his time, and I love him for that.”
Several other interview subjects are lined up for future episodes. Petrella says Warhol Creative hopes a streaming platform will pick up the documentaries.
Footage and screenshots have not yet been released, but Gondek is currently collaborating with Retrotainment, a Pittsburgh-based game developer, on a video game.
“These little ducks go around, and in this game, the ducks go into very popular IP, like The Simpsons, Warner Bros., and you beat the shit out of the characters,” Gondek says. “Obviously, that’s not it, but that’s the quick elevator pitch for the game.”
This video game represents a full-circle moment for Gondek. As a kid, Gondek drew video game levels in addition to portraits and comics of other cartoon characters he loved. “What I’m doing now is what I’ve done forever,” Gondek says.
In the afternoon, before the two screenings, Gondek appeared cool as a cucumber, neither nervous nor overflowing with excitement. His naturally emotionally neutral disposition can prove off-putting to some, and Gondek says several friends assumed he hated them at first.
“It’s just my tone of voice and my personality,” Gondek says. “It actually works out quite well because most people, when they think that someone doesn’t like them, they try a little harder with that person. So everyone just kinda goes a little bit extra for me.”
At the late show, he chucked a large cardboard box on stage filled with plushie ducks he made, then threw them into the crowd. When answering audience questions, he humorously vacillated between acting abrasive and sincere.
While he’s tapping the brakes a bit, it excites Gondek that where he’s at now, and part of where he’s going, includes his hometown of Pittsburgh.
“This museum was always such a huge deal to me, and the fact that my name is anywhere near Warhol’s name has always been really great,” Gondek says.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2025.
