I HATE CONFRONTATION
MICHAEL
INTROVERT/EXTROVERT SERIES
Acrylic on Wood
16" X 18" unframed
I have been staring at an unfinished painting for almost 5 years. An awkward boy with a mountain lion head is standing across from a statuesque boy with a deer head--empty space between them. In the end I decide the painting is complete and title it "Unfinished Business" . 2 years ago I am struck by the photography of Lauren DeAngelis on Instagram. Her photos of chromatic architecture and awkward figures are reminiscent of my painting, I ask permission to use her paintings as references, and they become a body of work. While our work is tantalizingly similar it is still different, and it is in fact our difference that we share most in common. To suggest that all people are equal or the same erases the differences that make life complex and interesting. In a seeming paradox, common connections are made because we are humans with difference. We have animalistic behaviors. We are introverts and we are extroverts.