Visual artist Mattias Christian on comics, cowpokes and creative growth

When Mattias Christian joined the High School Visual Arts program at UNCSA, it was the first time he had the space and support to fully focus on his creative work. After his local high school stopped offering art classes, he came to campus ready to grow — and discovered not just new materials and methods, but a community that encouraged him to take risks and define his own artistic voice.

Now a graduating senior, Mattias reflects on the transformation that followed. In this Q&A, he looks back on the risks he took, the art he made and the moment he realized his story was worth telling exactly as it is.

What drew you to the High School Visual Arts program?

For me, it was the prospect of fully being able to immerse myself in my art and a community of artists, especially since my high school at the time stopped offering art classes. I was blown away by the campus on my first tour by the access to studios and the promise of unlimited time to invest into my practice, as well as the ability to explore many different mediums and techniques in pursuit of my own visual style and messaging in my art.

One of the Visual Arts studios at UNCSA / Photo: Jen Scheib

What was your first day at UNCSA like, and how have you changed since then?

The day I moved in my junior year, I was probably the loneliest I've ever felt. Coming from a high school of only two-hundred kids, UNCSA felt absolutely massive and it certainly overwhelmed me. Moving into the dorms and going through orientation felt unreal at the time: everything moved so fast.

Looking back now, it amazes me how much my thoughts about the campus have changed since then. Although it's only been two years, I can confidently say I have never felt more at home in a community like I do at UNCSA. I have experienced much more than I would have at any other school, including a newfound independence, the beginnings of lifelong friendships and phenomenal growth in my artistic craft.

How did you balance traditional high school academics with your creative practice?

For me, my studio practice has always come first. I feel this is what separates UNCSA from a more traditional high school — we are allowed to engross ourselves in our art in a way that just wouldn't be possible in any other environment. I try to prioritize my art without letting my academics fall to the wayside, which can certainly be difficult sometimes, but I find that living our close proximity to the studios lets me work on my art incredibly easily.

This is what separates UNCSA from a more traditional high school — we are allowed to engross ourselves in our art in a way that just wouldn't be possible in any other environment.
Mattias Christian

What is the Visual Arts community like, and how did being surrounded by other artists impact your artistry?

The community here has filled me with inspiration and motivation. Seeing other people's personalities and passions shine through their art kept my creative juices flowing and always motivated me to keep pushing myself and iterating on my craft. It's one thing being influenced by a piece of art, but it's a completely different ballpark to know the artist who created it and watch them slowly form their ideas into reality. Community, especially in VA II, has felt like a second home to me. The artists and staff in Visual Arts are some of the most supportive people I've ever met and have always encouraged me to pursue my passions.

Mattias Christian in the studio with other Visual Arts students and alumnus David La Chapelle / Photo: Derrick Brady

How has your art evolved during your time at UNCSA?

When I first started classes here, I didn't have a distinct visual style or message I wanted to explore through my art. After being around so many unique artists, however, and watching them grow inside and outside of the studio, I feel as though I've finally come into my own. I can now see the throughlines of identity and disassembly that touch each piece I create. When I create, I consider every aspect of a piece with intention, consciously using the tools I have learned to push my intention to the viewer. I also believe my art has become much more tied to myself and my desires as an artist.

Was there a particular medium, technique or concept that you discovered here?

Over the past two years, I've fallen in love with typography and comic-making. In my experience, comics particularly lend themselves to autobiography, as well as being a medium I have great interest in. In my VA I Color and Design class, we had both a zine project and a graphic novel project — both of which sparked my interest in more graphic art with a narrative intention. Since then, I have tried to continue taking inspiration from these projects and style of art in most of my work because it pushes me to make my work linked to who I am as an artist and as a person.

What is a project or piece you created that feels especially meaningful to you?

In the second semester of VA II, we worked for five weeks on a senior thesis — a project that encapsulates the visual, conceptual and technical learnings from our Visual Arts careers. For my thesis project, I created a graphic novel-inspired narrative illustration that followed my experience at a summer camp having a transgender counselor, and how that experience reframed the struggle I face as a transgender teenager though her efforts. The piece itself, titled "Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowpokes," is 1 × 6 ft — the largest scale I've ever worked on alone.

Mattias Christian installing his VA thesis at the NCMA Winston-Salem / Photo: Rugile Zemaityte

This was the first year I began to push myself to dig deeper into my identity (and myself in general) through my art. For the first time, I wanted the project to be unmistakably and irrevocably about me: providing insight into transgender-specific struggles through my experience with them. My thesis divulges the self-loathing and internalized transphobia I endured for years even after I came out — a mentality that was completely revolutionized after seeing how happy my counselor was as a transgender adult who is unapologetic about her identity, much the same way I am.

What’s a lesson from a faculty mentor or class that you’ll carry with you?

Honestly, I think it’s probably what my sculpture instructor, Teresa Cervantes, told me at the beginning of this year. We were working on a project about our theoretical "dream sculpture," and she advised me on my mockup sketches to let my ideas breathe. She asked me why so many different independently amazing concepts had to be forced together in one project, which genuinely made me reconsider how I approached my concepting process for my work. I realized thatif I truly want the best for my work, I need to either let some of my ideas go or save them for a different time; not everything needs to come to fruition at once.

Also, I would absolutely like to thank my Color and Design instructor, Kaitlin Botts, for fueling my love for typography, zines and politically vocal art. She has lent me so many books and zines on typography that pushed me to experiment with my visual style and intention with text and the lack thereof.

What’s one piece of advice you would give your freshman-year self?

I wish I could tell myself to stop working to meet self-imposed standards about what kind of person I should be; there's no point in eternally striving for some mythical benchmark of what's considered cool when you should just be enjoying where you're at.

What’s next for you after graduation, and why did you decide on that route?

A glimpse at the Scenic Paint studio at UNCSA / Rugile Zemaityte

Students working in the Scenic Paint studio at UNCSA / Rugile Zemaityte

I will be attending UNCSA again, this time majoring in Scene Painting! Ever since we toured the scenic painting department in my junior year, I've fallen in love with the space and the physicality of it all. I also love the collaboration and reliance required to make something that's bigger than myself.

I'm so excited to continue working in the arts and also theatre. Before coming to UNCSA, I designed the set for my school's spring musical, which was one of the many things that sparked my love for scenic painting. I think in the future, I want to keep pushing myself to create more and more art that shows others my life and what I've experienced. I'm beyond excited to continue making friends and amazing work alongside fellow artists here, and I'm so ready for whatever comes my way.

By Sasha Hartzell

May 12, 2025