Skoto Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recent monoprints by Michael Marshall. This is his first solo show at the gallery. The artist will be present at the reception on Thursday, March 1st, 6-8pm.n n nMichael Marshall’s recent monoprints are characterized by a carefully structured and organized rhythm of dynamic lines and organic forms, mastery of the nuances of color and composition, deep sensitivity to texture combined with a display of emotional intensity. A highly inventive and renowned artist who uses complex procedures with oil-based media and overlapping stencils in his paintings, he has consistently explored the expressive possibilities of abstraction in his encounter with history and global transformation over the past three decades. His work is dense with visual overload that reflects an awareness of a vast array of both formal and inherited traditions, and employs a rich vocabulary of signs and markers that speak boldly and clearly to a universal audience. The basis for all of Marshall’s work is drawing and the network of lines on the surface of his pictures are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable, often using them to serve as a means of exploration of formal and perceptual relationships between the artwork and the viewer. His pictures are as complex technically as they are spatially, combining muscular and blocky compositions infused with brilliant yellows, volcanic reds, saturated violets, oranges, and greens to create pictures that possess unique qualities of ripeness and continuous growth.n n nMichael Marshall’s initial works in this media came in direct response to the sculptor Albert Paley and his utilization of stencils to create monoprints during a residency in the University of Hawaii print studio in October 2010. Since that time Michael Marshall’s work has evinced persistent experimentation and mastery of technique that goes beyond accepted boundaries of the medium. Monoprints are known as the most painterly method among printmaking techniques. It is essentially a printed painting, and no two prints are alike. However, the beauty of the medium is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting, and drawing media, all of which are deftly exploited by the artist in this series. Although the graphic impact of his picture is greatest from far away, a closer look offers a rewarding experience and palpable sensations. To the artist, the printmaking process is a collaboration with circumstance, where chance and intention collide. As stated by the artist: “Calligraphic doodles and other marking strategies originate many of the shapes that are subsequently refined through cutting with a knife and/or scissors into stencil forms. I usually start with two or three large shapes and solid ground coloration and work to place the forms in a manner that will maximize visual tensions. Natural gradations occur as a result of the mixing of color layers from pull off and/or re-rolled stencil forms that have been repositioned as part of the print matrix?.n n nMichael Marshall was born in 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri. He obtained his undergraduate degree in art in 1975 from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, and an MFA (painting) from Yale University, New Haven, CT, in 1977. A widely traveled artist, current and his recent exhibitions include Hawai’I Art Now, Honolulu Museum of Art, February 9 – April 22, 2012; Bridging the Waters – Africa to America, a special exhibition held in conjunction with the US – Africa Sister Cities Foundation, St. Louis Centre for International Relations, 2005; VII Contemporary Museum Biennial of Hawaii Artists, Honolulu, Hawaii, St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO. Awards include Louis Comfort Tiffany Prize in painting in 1981, The Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts Purchase Awards (2000 and 2005), National Society of Arts and Letters (First and Second prize). He presently teaches at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, where he serves as Chair of the Art Department. He is in several private and public collections in the US and abroad.n n n nArtist’s Statementn n nThis series of prints began in response to images created by sculptor Albert Paley during his residency in the Art Department print studio at the University of Hawaii Hilo last October, 2010.n n nIn my prior experience with mono print which was limited to the direct manipulation of color applied with brushes to a plate surface, the flatness of the final image left me with the impression that I had engaged in a poor substitute for painting. I had not considered the possibility of creating mono prints utilizing stencils until I witnessed Paley at work.n n nFor a brief period during the early 1990’s my work focused on making wood sculptures from recycled lumber. The making of those assemblages engaged a strong sensation of drawing in physical space that was very exciting; triggered many dynamic visual connections. The current series of mono prints have opened a related door.n n nVarious embossments created by the overlap of shapes under pressure establish recognizable spatial structures that function even in the absence of color. The addition of color establishes a tonal mood. The colors applied with rollers (or not) onto the cut stencil shapes is transferred in a layering that is only possible with oil based media. Altogether I find that the images become more complex and nuanced with each pull of these shape based environments.n n nThe stencil shapes used in my print process are cut from a wide range of plastic materials and papers. Organized to a depth of no more than three layers, difference in the material hardness or softness, significantly impacts the transfer of color and other physical effects. My materials are sometimes manipulated prior to cutting to amplify visual textures.n n nCalligraphic doodles and other marking strategies originate many of the shapes that are subsequently refined through cutting with a knife and/or scissors into stencil forms. I usually start with two or three large shapes and solid ground coloration and work to place the forms in a manner that will maximize visual tensions. Natural gradations occur as a result of the mixing of color layers from pull off and/or re-rolled stencils forms that have been repositioned as a part of the print matrix.n n nVariations in physical consistency of oil base inks in conjunction with different levels of embossments that have become part of the print surface occasionally create rich viscosity printing effects. This print process has forced me to make absolute decisions in my use of shape and color that is also reflected in my current work in painting. When the prints are working well, I am absorbed into a soothing and well-ordered visual dimension.
Michael D. Marshall
Hilo, HI
07/21/2011
