Calling Me Home
by Michael Wolf
Showing until July 16, 2023
Michael Wolf's work encompasses sculpture, installation, and drawing. Inspired by architectural forms, he uses them as a metaphor for the human experience. The desire for shelter physically and psychologically permeates his work. Wolf uses wood, stone, metal, and gold leaf to create contemporary art with an ongoing dialogue with history.
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ARTIST STATEMENT
MEET THE ARTIST
Michael Wolf
Michael Wolf is an NYC area artist whose work encompasses sculpture, installation, and drawing. Inspired by architectural forms, he uses them as a metaphor for the human experience. The desire for shelter physically and psychologically permeates his work. Wolf uses wood, stone, metal, and gold leaf to create contemporary art with an ongoing dialogue with history.
Wolf's large installations have been exhibited at the Orlando Museum of Art, the Future of Cities Climate and Innovation Hub, during Miami Art Week, the Center for Contemporary Art, The College of St. Elizabeth, and 1165 6th Avenue, NYC. He worked with the New York City Parks Department to install a public sculpture on the Lower East Side’s Allen St. Mall for the summer of 2022.
In 2020 Wolf participated in an artist residency at Mana Contemporary sponsored by the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation. The drawings he completed during the residency led to a series of sculptures and a solo show at the Visual Arts Center of NJ. Wolf received individual fellowship grants from the NJ State Council of the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. He received the Power of Art Award, personally presented by Robert Rauschenberg at the East Wing of the National Gallery.
Monica King Projects presented his work at Intersect Aspen and online at Intersect Chicago/SOFA. His sculpture Sanctum was highlighted in the penthouse at 100 Franklin in Tribeca. Other exhibitions include a solo show at the Sculptors Guild Gallery in Dumbo, Brooklyn, and I'm Your Venus at Bee in the Lion Gallery in Manhattan. Wolf's first international project was released in the spring of 2022. The organizers of The Bau Container of Contemporary Culture, based in Viareggio, Italy, invited Wolf to create a series of 120 prints to be included in the 18th edition of BAU Container. The container has been placed in the Palazzo Reale and the Museo del Novecento, both in Milan, Italy.
VIRTUAL TOUR WITH THE ARTIST
In my current work, I have been exploring the archetypal form of the gabled roof house structure as a metaphor for the human experience. I have always been intrigued by architectural spaces and forms. Gaston Bachelard's book The Poetics of Space focused the idea in my mind. A quote from The Poetics of Space conveys the essence of this series of sculptures "...the imagination functions in this direction whenever the human being has found the slightest shelter: We see the imagination build "walls" of impalpable shadows, comfort itself with the illusion of protection or, just the contrary, tremble behind thick walls, mistrust the staunchest ramparts. "
The idea of a house as a metaphor for human experience coalesced with my investigation into the dichotomies of protection vs. vulnerability that I explore in this series. Ancient monuments and sacred spaces inspire some of these sculptures, while others are inspired by local vernacular architecture, either urban, industrial, or rural. I especially enjoy the sculptural aspect of the abandoned buildings that are stripped of their interior and exterior details and components.
Material integrity is an essential aspect of my sculptures. I choose the material for each sculpture carefully so that it speaks to the essence of the piece. I enjoy the physical process of making each piece. Each sculpture is meticulously crafted to integrate the concept with the material and process.