Drawing together influences from antiquities to Modernism, Los Angeles-based artist Matthew Monahan creates contemporary ‘relics’ that are simultaneously familiar and alien. His surreal, anthropomorphic creations quiver like artefacts excavated from future worlds, infused with mythology and magic. Executed in 2005, and included in the Saatchi Gallery’s exhibition USA Today at the Royal Academy of Arts the following year, Riker’s Island is an early example of this practice, featuring a variety of items and icons adorning a vitrine. The artist was particularly inspired by a trip to Tibet and Nepal during this period, where he observed the use of sculptural objects as a means to commune with the spiritual world. Monahan has since exhibited widely, staging solo shows at institutions including the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery and the Museo Nazionale Romano in Palazzo Altemps, Rome. His works are held in the collections of Tate, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.