81C is honored to announce a full scale main gallery exhibition of installation works with an opening celebration event taking place on Friday, March 28 (5 p.m.-12 a.m.) at its downtown location on Strand Gade in historic Charlotte Amalie. DJ collective CARBAR will perform at the event.
The featured exhibition analogous (uh·na·luh·gus) showcases St. Thomas based artist Siyandi.
Siyandi Matthias will also be appearing as artist-in-residence at CMCArts on St Croix throughout April. CMCArts connects artists with St. Croix and the Caribbean to develop their professional practice while educating and diversifying the arts culture. We provide dedicated time and space in the scenic town of Frederiksted for artists to work, research, and develop while living at the museum in an artist-in-residence apartment.
Show description: “St. Thomas artist Siyandi’s premiere full scale solo exhibition of sculpture installations and works on paper entitled analogous (uh·na·luh·gus) explores an axis of technology, creativity, and environmental impact through a multifaceted collection that contrasts old and new media, while questioning the concept of innovation and related consequential results. analogous argues for an advancement in conversation on viewer expectations, intention, and perceived meaning derived from contemporary Caribbean artists working at the edge of international spotlight. Siyandi’s breakout show stands to invigorate, inspire, and challenge an emerging art market straining for release from traditional formulas, delivering a dynamic range of interpretations, constructs, and dreams.”
-The Curators, 81C, March, Charlotte Amalie.
Artist statement:
“At its core, my work is about exploration—both of abstraction and of the unseen forces that shape our world. My artistic journey began in childhood, sketching stick figures and imagined spaces, later evolving through a fascination with architecture and design. Studying interior design at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) sharpened my understanding of structure, but it was in painting and drawing that I found my true voice; one that merges formal training with intuition. My work now blends geometric abstraction with fluid, organic forms, creating layered compositions that exist between dimensions. Growing up in the Virgin Islands, I was constantly surrounded by technology, working alongside my father as he installed networks, home theaters, and automation systems. This exposure shaped how I see the world—where information flows through unseen channels, and progress is built on systems both visible and hidden. These ideas naturally find their way into my work, where line, shape, and depth suggest movement between planes, much like data traveling through conduits.
For this exhibition, I’m using that perspective to examine the fragmented relationship between technology and its environment—particularly how discarded devices, once revolutionary, become obsolete at an alarming rate. I incorporate found materials, digital and traditional mediums, and sculptural elements to highlight this tension, inviting viewers to reflect on what we create, discard, and repurpose.
Beyond this show, I hope to expand what art looks like in the Virgin Islands. Too often, our creative identity is confined to depictions of tropical beauty, but I believe we can explore deeper narratives—ones that question, experiment, and push boundaries. My goal is to create space for work that challenges conventions, showing that Virgin Islanders can engage in conceptual, abstract, and thought-provoking art just as much as any other artistic community.”
– Siyandi Matthias, March, 2025, Charlotte Amalie.
About the artist:
Siyandi Matthias is a native of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (New Tutu), whose artistic journey began with childhood drawings and evolved through a deep fascination with architecture and design. This passion led him to study interior design at (SCAD) Savannah College of Art and Design, where he developed a sharp understanding of structure, balance, and spatial relationships. Design thinking remains central to his creative process, shaping how he constructs and arranges elements across different mediums.
Influenced by Joan Miró’s The Melancholic Singer as a child, Siyandi’s work blurs the boundaries between two and three dimensions. His abstract illustrations feature fluid shapes and hovering forms, where shadows create an illusion of movement—figures and objects seemingly caught between planes, reaching for new dimensions.
As a multidisciplinary artist, Siyandi moves between illustration, photography, music, graphic design, and painting, embracing the multifaceted nature of creativity. His artistic identity, Abrokenglass, reflects this approach—constantly shifting perspectives, deconstructing and reassembling ideas across different mediums.
In recent years, his work has explored the intersection of technology, materiality, and environmental impact. His upcoming exhibition, analogous, examines the paradox of progress: how technological innovation shapes the world while also discarding its past. Through a mix of digital and traditional mediums—including works on paper, repurposed technology, and sculptural installations—he challenges viewers to reconsider the relationship between creativity, consumption, and sustainability.
Event details:
Siyandi – analogous (uh·na·luh·gus)
Opening reception: Friday, March 28, 5PM-12PM
Free admission.
LIVE DJ: CARBAR
Exhibition will be on-view at 81C through June, 2025
Gallery hours and show catalog available at 81CVI.COM.
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