Marvin Matherne
Photo Courtesy Times Picayune
“Boredom overtook him and he began to speak”
Always entrepreneurial, Marvin made and sold art in his childhood from the back of his parent’s station wagon in the grocery parking lot.
His early works include a yarn owl that was on display at Chalmette High from the late 1970’s until Katrina as well as a Hands of the World piece for his church, also on display until Katrina.
When he became a man, Marvin put up what he considered the childish hobby of making art, and opened a series of businesses, culminating in Guy’s, a beloved Uptown poor boy shop.
When a truck crashed through Guy’s in the dead of night at the end of 2015, Marvin was without an occupation for four months while his building underwent renovations. In this boredom, he began to speak through his prolific catalog of artworks.
His work continues to make evolutionary jumps, with a consistent focus on color, movement and exuberance.