Matthew Flower was born in 1972, grew up in Houston and Idaho, went to college in Boulder, and then in 1994 escaped to New York City, where he became part of the club and drag scene. He has described himself as “a radical queer emotionally driven, instinct-based concept artist and thinker.” Which makes him sound super academic, but he is not. In 2001, Flower began using the name Machine Dazzle, a nod to the fact that he danced with the troupe Dazzle Dancers and that he’d been called a “dancing machine.” Two years ago, the Museum of Arts and Design presented a show of Machine Dazzle’s costumes for experimental forms of theater—costumes that are, in fact, performances in themselves. Now he’s receiving his first gallery show of art created from found objects and even trash. “In a world of inanimate objects, I am intent on nurturing possibilities,” he says of this exhibition. “The viewer discovers the past, the present, and future of organic curiosities both real and imagined. Ultimately, this work is about seeing in a new way.” —Laura Jacobs