In the Department of Matter, objects are inseparably tied to the physical materials of which they are created.

Qualities such as texture, color and elemental make-up are indispensable to the objects and therefore integral to the department's analysis. Because objects must be examined in their physical environment, the identity of an object is in a constant state of flux. Through methods of production and types of deterioration, it is inevitable that matter will acquire different shapes over time by virtue of natural forces or human intervention. 

Members of this department reject the Platonic view which underlies the Department of Forms and instead embrace sensory experience as the greatest means for understanding objects.

Vince Maitland

Department Chair

Vince Maitland’s career has encircled material transformation in many ways. His intensive studies began with a focus on bronze age artifacts, specifically the ritual vessels from China’s Western Zhou Dynasty. As part of a residency program at the Arthur M Sackler Museum, Vince traveled through China’s Shaanxi Province, working with local craftsmen to recreate the piece-mold techniques used in the casting of ancient bronzes. This work eventually led him to a position at the British museum as a specialist in the conservation and repair of ceramic, glass and metal artifacts. While working as a conservationist however, Vince grew increasingly interested in the forces of deterioration themselves and began to reject what he saw as a misguided desire to preserve artifacts as static, unchanging objects. During this time, Vince also began creating expansive corrosive mandalas, replacing colored sand with different chemical compounds released drop by drop onto metal surfaces. In 2019, Vince left the British museum to pursue these mandalas in greater depth while also working as a forensic consultant. Vince now serves as director of the Department of Matter.