Florida Mining: Artist of the Week

Michael Saunders
Untitled, 2023
Acrylic and mixed media on layered paper
3.5 x 5 inches

Works on view at floridamininggallery.com APRIL 1, 2023 — MAY 31, 2023.

Cosmic dolphins, dancing stars, domesticated cats, and other odd forms do their part in a greater composition. Color and geometry hold together characters discreetly attempting to pull apart the sum of the whole at the seams. Some are obvious, some quiet. Michael Saunders’ paintings capture pictures impressed on the spirit, seeing the joy, humor, and absurdity of the beautiful momentary experience. Sometimes poetic, always silly, never taken too seriously. Layers of paint and color give the viewer a physical reaction. Gouache, oil, spray, and anything that calls out to make a feeling or texture are clumsily applied to paper and canvas.

Michael’s triangles are made with leftover paint from his larger figurative work. They build on one another as a sort of team. Painted one by one, equally important individual paper triangles are adhered together supporting a chosen “one” to stand front and center. The “supporters” peek out from behind, and their colors interact with those in front of them. The scale is intimate and invites the viewer to investigate their interplay of color.

Michael graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 2013, and alongside making paintings, he tattoos at Inksmith and Rogers Tattoo in Jacksonville.