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Benches are on display at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

Display cases are at Phantom of the Attic

Conference Table is at the Sprout Fund

To Matt Clifford, display cases, benches, and light fixtures all can be works of art. He also is intrigued by the idea of developing a building, design theme or object, or piece of art out of a single item.

“The smallest thing can expand or unfold into an entire environment,” says Clifford, whose design-build firm, Forecast, which he runs with business partner, Eric Ross, recently completed the re-design of the Phantom of the Attic comic book store in Oakland. A single artistic touch – a shield – provided the theme for the entire store. It showed up in objects ranging from bookracks to cabinets.

Currently, the group is working on a modular display system for the new Fairmont Hotel. The case will house a collection of artifacts that were found when the building’s foundation was excavated. Other recent projects include the renovation of the Sprout Fund offices in Garfield and a warehouse conversion on the South Side.

While much of the firm’s recent work has been commercial, Clifford has done residential projects in the past, and he says that he would like to increase that type of work. One particular area of interest is smaller structures, like playhouses and garden sheds. “I’ve done a bunch of these funny little buildings,” he says. “And I really love to do them.”

Furniture is another area of expertise for Clifford. He can build items from the ground up, as he did with a conference table for Sprout Fund, or add unique touches to pre-fabricated items, like cabinets. “Some of the detailing we do has that traditional craftsman style,” he says.

In fact, Clifford makes jigs, fixtures and other tooling from scratch to create custom work.

Clifford describes his approach to furniture and other decorating touches as utilitarian, clean, and simple, while simultaneously including a unique and unexpected twist. He also says that the function and practicality of objects drives everything he’s done. “I’m really interested in engaging people rather than putting them off.”

Clifford is so interested in engaging people that he opens his company’s Polish Hill studio to the public one or two evenings per week. This allows budding potters and metalsmiths, among others, to use equipment to which they might not otherwise have access.

The multidimensional artist works in several other genres as well. “I’ve been making artwork for my whole life,” says Clifford, adding that his day job keeps him so busy that he doesn’t have much time to work on compiling a body of work of any of his other pieces.

His drawings were featured in a Fe Gallery show called “Good on Paper.” He’s also an avid sculptor, creating works of art from found items such as university classroom chair bases, old typewriter keys, and even chunks of concrete. “I’m a classic hoarder,” he says. “Once you start looking for inspirational objects, you find them everywhere.”

Clifford has an architecture degree from the University of Illinois, although he hasn’t worked in an architecture firm since high school.

An Ann Arbor, Mich., native who previously lived in Chicago, Clifford feels that his art has blossomed since he moved to Pittsburgh. “Pittsburgh has been a big, big deal for us,” he says. “We were interested in collaborating with people again.” Clifford says that when he was working in Chicago, he found it tough to break into the scene.

Collaboration has always been an important part of Clifford’s work. He first met his wife, Alyssa Mayfield, a dancer, when the two worked together on a performance project at the University of Illinois, their alma mater.

When he and Mayfield first moved to Pittsburgh, deciding to rent an apartment during a four-day visit to the city, Clifford developed a working relationship with Tim Kaulen, who had advertised in the City Paper for someone to share his studio space. It turned out that the space was in the Brew House on the South Side.

Clifford then got involved with the Brew House’s Industrial Arts Cooperative, where he met fellow artist Rob Long, who has also been an important partner in multiple projects. Long now owns Clear Story Creative, a production company that is curating the Fairmont Hotel artifact collection. He brought Clifford’s company into the fold on that initiative.

Clifford credits the willingness and openness of other local artists as being a significant factor in his success. “If you really want to make something happen,” he says, “people want to help. They want to see things happen.”