Artist Statement
BORN in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Matko has a love of the clean, spare style of Scandinavian design that has traveled with him throughout his life. Matko started his creative journey in San Francisco, where he worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker to pay for his schooling at the Academy of Art College. He went on to infuse the sophisticated sensibility of Zurich, the pulsing creative energy of New York City, and the serene beauty of upstate New York into his evolving designs. Inspired early on by the work of pre-eminent California woodworker Sam Maloof, Matko realized one of his dreams almost two decades later when he actually attended a workshop given by Maloof. Matko currently resides in Ossining, New York, with his wife Jeannette, their two dogs and one tiny cat.
Educational Background
