Matthew Hoffman (artist)#You Are Beautiful

Matthew Hoffman was born in Rockford, Ohio. In 2001, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design from Ball State University.

File:You Are Beautiful Sticker.jpgHoffman refers to himself as the "custodian" of the You Are Beautiful Project,{{cite news |last=Pride |first=Ray |date=25 May 2021 |title=Today in the Culture, May 25, 2021: You Got This / Blocking Muddy Waters Museum / Protest Plywood Art | work=NewCity |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-artist-behind-you-are-beautiful-signs-around-chicago-20151101-story.html |access-date=27 February 2023}} which began in 2002 as a street art sticker campaign with 100 stickers he distributed to friends, who placed them in public spaces around the world.{{cite news |last=Vivanco |first=Leonor |date=1 November 2015 |title=Meet the artist behind the many 'You Are Beautiful' signs around Chicago | work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-artist-behind-you-are-beautiful-signs-around-chicago-20151101-story.html |access-date=27 February 2023}} "The original idea behind the project was just to create a simple, positive, affirming message – just to say 'you are beautiful, you're perfect as you are.' Like, everything's OK," Hoffman said in an interview for OWN's Super Soul Sunday television series.{{Cite episode |title=You Are Beautiful: The Little Sticker That Started a Worldwide Phenomenon |url=https://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/you-are-beautiful-the-sticker-that-started-a-phenomenon-video |access-date=3 March 2023 |series=Super Soul Sunday |network=OWN |date=24 February 2013 |season=4 |number=411 |minutes=3:18 |language=English}}

"I wanted to create the perfect positive message that you could share with everyone," he said in an interview.{{cite news |last=Podrazik|first=Joan|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/you-are-beautiful-project-artist-matthew-hoffman_n_2735054|title=The 'You Are Beautiful' Project: Artist Matthew Hoffman Spreads The Love|work=Huffington Post|date=22 February 2013|access-date=2 March 2023}} Initially he remained anonymous, referring to the project as "international collective."{{cite news |last=Armstrong |first=Liz |date=28 April 2005 |title=The Street Art Shortage | work=Chicago Reader |url=https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-street-art-shortage/ |access-date=27 February 2023}} Since inception, it is estimated that over 8.5 million stickers have been distributed in hundreds of languages.{{cite news |last=Jayswal |first=Palak |date=5 June 2022 |title=If you're good enough, smart enough ... say it to the mirrors at St. Louis Galleria exhibit |work=Salt Lake City Tribune |url=https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2022/06/05/chicago-artist-brings/ |access-date=3 March 2023}} The stickers have been posted in locations around the world, on all seven continents.

File:You are beautiful (29765641654).jpgIn addition to stickers, Hoffman and collaborators have created both commissioned and noncommissioned murals and installations in a variety of mediums, including paint, plywood and mixed media. In a notable early example, the message is painted at the top of the Rice Mill Lofts in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2006, Hoffman collaborated with more than 100 local artists to create a temporary installation on the pedestrian pedway wall during construction at Block 37.{{cite web |title=State Street Pedestrian Walkway |url=http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/15/15STATE/15State.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222164213/http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/15/15STATE/15State.htm |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |access-date=July 10, 2009}}{{cite news |date=23 January 2015 |title=A decade of You Are Beautiful |work=Time Out Chicago |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/a-decade-of-you-are-beautiful |access-date=2 March 2023}}

There are more than 100 permanent You Are Beautiful public art pieces on display globally, with the greatest concentration located in the Chicago area, such as a billboard-sized replica of a You Are Beautiful sticker erected in 2015 on South Lake Shore Drive in the Oakland neighborhood, installations on fences in Andersonville and Englewood, and on the exterior of the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, Illinois.{{cite news |last=Zorn |first=Eric |date=25 May 2015 |title=Mystery sign sows cheer on Lake Shore Drive |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-xpm-2014-05-25-ct-oped-zorn-0525-20140525-story.html |access-date=27 February 2023}}{{cite news |last=Bloom |first=Mina |date=15 April 2015 |title='You Are Beautiful' Signs Coming to Andersonville in May |work=DNAinfo |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150415/andersonville/you-are-beautiful-signs-coming-andersonville-may/ |access-date=27 March 2023}}{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Andrea |date=26 October 2015 |title=Local Artist's 'You Are Beautiful' Display Debuts in Englewood |work=DNAinfo |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151026/englewood/local-artists-you-are-beautiful-display-debuts-englewood/ |access-date=27 March 2023}}{{cite web |last=Van Alyea |first=Ginny |date=25 June 2020 |title=Say it Loud: You Are Beautiful |url=https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2020/6/say-it-loud-you-are-beautiful |access-date=28 March 2023 |publisher=Chicago Gallery News}} In 2014, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum commissioned a series of billboards placed throughout Erie County featuring a version of the You Are Beautiful sticker design.{{cite web |date=2014 |title=You Are Beautiful, 2014 |url=https://buffaloakg.org/community/ak-public-art/you-are-beautiful |access-date=3 March 2023 |publisher=Buffalo AKG Art Museum}} In 2017, Hoffman launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to place a You Are Beautiful public sculpture in all 50 states.{{cite news |last=Gossett |first=Stephen |date=20 June 2017 |title=Mystery sign sows cheer on Lake Shore Drive |work=Chicagoist |url=https://chicagoist.com/2017/06/20/you_can_help_chicagos_celebrated_yo.php |access-date=3 March 2023}}

In 2022, Hoffman was commissioned by shopping mall owner Brookfield Properties to conceive and produce the You Are Beautiful Experience, an interactive exhibit that toured the company's shopping centers in St. Louis, Missouri; Murray, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada, Frisco, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia; Durham, North Carolina; and Norwalk, Connecticut.{{cite news |last=Neman |first=Daniel |date=24 May 2022 |title=If you're good enough, smart enough ... say it to the mirrors at St. Louis Galleria exhibit |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/if-you-re-good-enough-smart-enough-say-it-to-the-mirrors-at-st-louis/article_e74a5a12-1c6a-535f-a138-6294c64e568d.html |access-date=27 February 2023}}{{cite news |last=Cruz |first=Martha |date=7 July 2022 |title='Summertime Happiness' art installation makes debut at Fashion Show Mall |publisher=KSNV-TV |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/summertime-happiness-art-installation-makes-debut-at-fashion-show-mall |access-date=3 March 2023}}

In 2023, You Are Beautiful produced an edition of stickers in braille. "Every single person deserves to be treated with kindness and compassion, and be reminded of their value and worth. At the heart of the You Are Beautiful project is to constantly be innovating to find ways to interject positivity into daily life for everyone," Hoffman said.{{cite news |last=Rigou |first=Vasia |date=25 May 2015 |title=Spreading Positivity Beyond Borders: You Are Beautiful Braille Stickers |work=New City |url=https://design.newcity.com/2023/04/19/you-are-beautiful-braille-stickers-spread-positivity-beyond-borders/ |access-date=12 February 2024}}

Hoffman's work typically depicts words or phrases rendered in two- or three-dimensional text, often in a cursive font based on the artist's handwriting.

In 2015, real estate brokerage and technology firm @properties commissioned Hoffman to paint a mural on its Chicago headquarters. The mural features the word "love" in a cursive script based on Hoffman's handwriting.{{cite news |last=Yassine |first=Leen |date=11 December 2020 |title=Artist behind 'you are beautiful' wants people to 'be yourself, and that's enough' |work=Chicago Sun-Times |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/murals-mosaics/2020/12/11/21718857/you-are-beautiful-artist-matthew-hoffman-murals-lincolnwood |access-date=2 March 2023}} The design was turned into magnets and other promotional items for the company, and was incorporated into a new mural by artist Lefty Out There in 2021.{{cite news |last=Rockett |first=Darcel |date=5 October 2021 |title=When it comes to murals, Chicago's are some of the most-loved |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-chicago-murals-lefty-out-there-love-0927-20211005-taeefpf6zvgpvgbla7zt57btcy-story.html |access-date=2 March 2023}}

In 2016, Hoffman installed a sculpture titled May This Never End along the fence of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston.{{cite news |last=Khvan |first=Olga |date=7 January 2016 |title=More Text-Based Public Art Comes to the Greenway |work=Boston Magazine |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2016/01/07/matthew-hoffman-art-rose-kennedy-greenway/ |access-date=27 February 2023}} The piece was recognized as one of the best public artworks of the year in the Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network Year in Review.{{cite web |date=2017 |title=Public Art Network Year In Review Database: May This Never End |url=https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/may-this-never-end |access-date=2 March 2023 |website=Americans for the Arts}}{{cite web |date=12 July 2017 |title='MAY THIS NEVER END' receives Americans for the Arts' Year in Review Award |url=https://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/may-this-never-end-receives-americans-for-the-arts-year-in-review-award/ |access-date=2 March 2023 |website=Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy}} The full text of the piece reads:

Nothing's for keeps. Except that we must keep going. You'll spend your entire life searching, ok? We all want to belong. So let's all get along. Make the most, and hope. May this never end.

The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo commissioned a sculpture for its 2019 Momentum arts festival. The sculpture features the phrases "You Are Beautiful" on one side and "You Are Doing Great" on the other. After the festival concluded, the sculpture was moved to a permanent location in International Park in downtown Toledo.{{cite news |author= |date=21 November 2019 |title=Arts Commission adds to Toledo art installations |work=Toledo Blade |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/art/2019/11/21/arts-commission-of-greater-toledo-purchases-sculpture/stories/20191121105 |access-date=3 March 2023}}{{cite news |author= |date=21 November 2019 |title=Arts Commission adds 'You Are Beautiful' sculpture to International Park collection |work=NBC 24 |url=https://nbc24.com/news/local/arts-commission-adds-you-are-beautiful-sculpture-to-international-park-collection |access-date=3 March 2023}}

Hoffman was commissioned during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine in 2020 to create a series of sculptures featuring the phrase "We're all in this together," which were placed on 24 buildings in Chicago.{{cite news |last=Crichton |first=Ginger |date=May 2020 |title="We're All In This Together" Signs Appear Around Chicago |work=Midwest Living |url=https://www.midwestliving.com/travel/illinois/chicago/were-all-in-this-together-signs-appear-around-chicago/ |access-date=3 March 2023}} In 2021, a sculpture featuring the phrase "You got this" was installed at the Roosevelt Collection Shops in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago.

Hoffman opened a studio and gallery in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago in 2018, where You Are Beautiful art, retail products and other artworks are displayed.

• 2019: Wandering Through Words, The Collective, Lafayette, CO
• 2017: YAB Culture, Galerie F, Chicago, IL
• 2017: Find Your Way, Workshop 4200, Chicago, IL
• 2016: From Here, St. Ambrose University Gallery, Davenport, IA
• 2013: The Next Chapter, Rare Device, San Francisco, CA
• 2011: Hey, Yes Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
• 2010: No One Knows How Deep This Goes, Wonder Fair, Lawrence, KS
• 2009: When All Is Said & Done, Possible Projects, Brooklyn, NY

• 2017: Dibs, Havas Gallery, Chicago, IL
• 2016: ChicagoMade: Great Ideas Of Humanity, World Business Chicago & Design Museum of Chicago, Hong Kong, China
• 2015: The Great Create, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX
• 2015: Play, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
• 2014: CHGO DSGN, EXPO Chicago, Chicago, IL
• 2014: Work at Play, Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• 2012: Share Your Beauty, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
• 2012: Museum Of Temporary Art, See Line, Los Angeles, CA
• 2011: Write Now: Artist and Letterforms, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL

• Public art 
• Street art

•  https://heyitsmatthew.com
•  https://you-are-beautiful.com

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Category:1979 births

Category:Living people

Category:American artists

Category:Public art