A graduate of Harvard College (B.A., 1981), Matt worked as a carpenter and cabinet-maker before beginning experiments with color woodblock printing in 1993. Since 1995 he has made his living making color woodblock prints using the Japanese hanga method.  

After earning his PhD in Psychology at Princeton University, Ming taught at MIT and then at Dartmouth College (2009 - 2017).  Ming is currently a tenured professor at South China Normal University in Guangzhou, China, pursuing research in the science of visual perception.