Meet the Artist

As a Michigan native, my work is deeply rooted in the natural world, drawing inspiration from flora, fauna, and the picturesque landscapes that have shaped my life. I am drawn to allegory, symbolism, and the visual language of illustration. Signs, symbols, and narrative imagery are part of my visual arsenal, helping to reveal the quieter stories embedded in nature and the human experience.

Painting and illustration have been a lifelong love affair and remain my creative anchors, serving as mediums through which I explore the space between observation and imagination. Through my visual arts practice, I aim to evoke curiosity, reflection, and a renewed sense of connection to the living world that surrounds us all.

Zach Maatman is a Central Michigan-based visual artist with a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design, concentrating in illustration, painting, and digital media. He has over two decades of experience working in the trades as a carpenter, millwright, welder, and fabricator, roles that have heavily influenced and shaped his material- and tactile-driven approach to creating artwork.

Maatman also spent several years in the visual communications field as a designer, illustrator, and installer for a vinyl graphics shop before transitioning into education, where he has spent the past five years teaching middle school visual arts. Inspired by nature and human curiosity, Maatman creates work that explores phenomenology, curiosity, and the natural world through the symbolic language of visual storytelling, painting, and printmaking.