Dazed and Confused #75 (Feature and interview)

Dazed and Confused #75, Hung and Drawn p. 114

WRITING HIS WAY INTO THE HISTORY OF ART by Francesca Gavin
In the beginning there was the word, and in artist Michael Genovese’s work that word takes myriad forms, encompassing wall paintings, street installations, and graphic sculptures. genovese has a background in strange jobs that inform his unique aesthetic- from painting carnival signs to painting the bases of swimming pools. He recently relocated fromChicago to Miami, where he has a major show opening this month at A-Ron’s cavernous O.H.W.O.W space. Although his work can appear graphic and bold in nature, Genovese is really interested in what he describes as “humility and perseverance, abandonment and desolation-the melting pot of culture, race, gender and socio-economics.”

L’Officiel Hommes, Paris FR

Artist feature

O.H.W.O.W. presents MICHAEL GENOVESE – IT’S NOT THE HEAT, IT’S THE HUMILITY

O.H.W.O.W. presents MICHAEL GENOVESE – IT’S NOT THE HEAT, IT’S THE HUMILITY
this Saturday, June 13, 2009

Images

Michael Genovese’s work operates as a reflection, both in a conceptual context and in a literal sense. This exhibition addresses a range of subjects, from Art History to American culture, pomposity to personal debt. The artist holds up a mirror in order to understand his identity and his role in relation to these subjects, while challenging the viewer to perform the same exercise. How we define ourselves, our choice of expression, the ways we are influenced by what we read and experience, all create cause for reflection and require a measure of humility in doing so.

Genovese’s text engravings on high-polished aluminum panels are simultaneously illegible and painstakingly detailed; they are further evolved reincarnations of pulp and prose. By turning his formerly disregarded mail – unpaid bills, debt collector threats, and legal documents – into sacred objects, he aims to more accurately convey the power of burden (figure 1). Also among this collection of engravings is a panel cataloging public commentary gathered from a previous project, citing nonsensical quotes like “Tippy-toe on the pooty-side” alongside profound examples: “Our dreams don’t fit on your ballot”. Another engraving plucks sections of cultural essays; from Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” : “You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world…”. Two chrome-plated, twin pieces, present the myth of Narcissus – one in Spanish, the other in French.

A pentaptych of paintings, executed in a style similar to the engravings, rewrites selections from a manifesto on Futurism – a lofty art movement, full of Italian bravado, which fell short of its own expectations. “Today, let tomorrow go” is the incomprehensible message on a monochromatic black painting. In each incarnation of the two-dimensional work a reflection is forced, but an obstacle exists – the process of analysis is difficult, uncomfortable, and at times simply impossible. The overall presentation of this work is an appropriation of theories from “Art and the Power of Placement” and a nod to the bygone era of formal gallery settings.

Three large-scale sculptures continue the conversation of obstacle and experience. A porch (figure 2), missing its home, is preserved like a giant chunk of amber containing the DNA of a tragic history. A bizarre arrangement of ordinary pipes and chains is elevated to grandiose through its nickel-plated treatment. Metal rails are manipulated into a circular formation, grounded with cement footings molded from traffic cones. The motive of this work is also an interactive one; an invitation to flex your agility on a course constructed to humiliate.

Accumulated sheets of paper, in actuality, weigh less than an ounce, yet can resonate the poundage of an anvil. Genovese takes intellectual ideas and gives them anatomy to match significance, while trying to preserve their original integrity. Ten-gauge aluminum panels somehow feel ephemeral, and a hulking wooden sculpture still gives a fragile impression; interpretations change depending on the view.

- essay by Lydia Ruby

Lydia Ruby is an independent curator and writer. Prior to this, she worked as Director/Curator for RHYS Gallery, Boston and from 1999-2006 she worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Lydia has a Graduate degree in Arts Administration from Boston University.

NBC Miami

Another Saturday in Wynwood, another art walk in Miami. Yes, it’s summer again and it will be hot out there. Like really, really hot. And crowded. It doesn’t matter, because you know you want to see some art and chat with some friends and drink the thimbles of vinegar they serve at each gallery. There’s another opening at the O.H.W.O.W gallery on Saturday, Our House West of Wynwood, which has been very busy almost since it opened. After a great Basel party, people can’t stay away, and they come to be seen. This will be the first Miami solo exhibition for Michael Genovese. This Chicagoan has an urban style, but like white guy urban style, and not in a bad way.

His installations, engravings, sculptures, and paintings often incorporate script in Spanish and Arabic, using a variety of mediums and techniques. His work is thoughtful and intricate and much of it approaches contemporary politics, some through audience participation like in his piece “Graffito.” Not-so appropriately titled It’s Not the Heat, it’s the Humility, this show promises to be worthy enough to brave the heat, even if you don’t leave your humility at home. by LIZ TRACY

Flying Solo BY P. SCOTT CUNNINGHAM, Miami New Times

Flying Solo BY P. SCOTT CUNNINGHAM Flying Solo Michael Genovese’s art career began with professional training in sign painting, a skill set that perhaps explains why his work is so technically precise. From his incredible etchings to his hyper-detailed site installations, Genovese’s work somehow combines the improvisational urban spirit of his native Chicago with a mood of thoughtful calculation — in other words, the legs of a b-boy with the head of a professor. His recent fellowship at the Fountainhead residency in Morningside and his participation in “Confection” at Our House West of Wynwood were apparently just the appetizers for the main course, also being served at O.H.W.O.W.: his first solo exhibition in Miami. Delightfully titled “It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humility,” the show will demonstrate Genovese’s equal comfort with a knife and a bottle of glue as with a paintbrush. New American Paintings and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago have already given Genovese solo love, so Miami is relatively late to the game

Lodown Magazine, Berlin, DE. #65

Image courtesy of Lodown Magazine

Artist feature in Lodown magazine issue #65 >Information

Arts and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL.

Arts and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL

All-Media Juried Biennial, 2009

The Center’s fourth All-Media Biennial exhibition will include original paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photography, video, computer-generated images, and site-specific installations from Florida-based artists who are selected for participation by juror Nina Arias, a New York-based independent curator who is formerly from Miami.

VIP Preview Event Thursday, April 23 Opening reception: Friday, April 24, 6 – 9 pm Exhibition runs through June 7, 2009

OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL, Chicago Tourism Center, Chicago, IL (Group Exhibition)

OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL – INSPIRED ART FOR OBAMA, Group Exhibition- Chicago, IL

OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL – INSPIRED ART FOR OBAMA

Curated by Chicago designer Scott Thomas, former Design Director of the Obama Campaign; Chicago artist Ray Noland; and Nathan Mason, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. April 1 – May 31 Monday – Saturday, 10AM to 6PM and Sunday, 10AM to 5PMFREE

Tuesday, March 31VIP & Press Preview, 6PM – 9PM Live: The GENT$, Shala & Rachel Katzman With DJs: Million$Mano, DIZRSVP Required, visit www.going.com/unofficial_preview

Chicago Tourism Center 72 E. Randolph Street (across from the Chicago Cultural Center) Chicago, IL

Cody Hudson
Dawoud Bey
Jorge Rodriguez Gerada
Michael Genovese
Mickalene Thomas
Mike Jacobs
Ray Noland/CRO
Shepard Fairey/OBEY and many more…

The Fountainhead Residency, Miami, FL

The Fountainhead Residency, Miami, FL

fountainhead

Communication, interaction, and language, form the principle genetics of my work. An early exposure to emigrant cultures generated, in my psyche, a sympathetic perspective on social homogeny and the issues that exist, therein. Born and raised in a multicultural community, I often overheard conversations I was unable to translate. Eventually, I retained certain foreign phrases I heard repeatedly. I guessed at the meaning of words by observing their context. As a result, I created a multilingual edifice. It was flawed, but illustrated my humble attempt at social connection.

In addition to verbal exchanges, I was influenced by written language. Unfamiliar words, alien alphabets, symbols and characters, triggered my visual subconscious. The elegance of letters combining to form a line eclipsed their actual meaning or grammatical perfection. Spelling errors and malapropisms became products of effort, rather than mistakes, in my mind. It was underneath the dead weight of seemingly lax endeavors that I discovered an art form.

There is also a concession at play. I use materials that I am fluent with to present topics I do not have complete control of. I toy with my comfort zone by inviting interaction and by allowing others to influence what I do. Interactive scenarios flesh those early social experiences, as I tease out differences in order to connect. My work is not always mine, alone. Through this process I offer a chorus, conceding that my voice is not the only relevant sound.

CONFECTION, Group show at O.H.W.O.W, Miami, FL

CONFECTION Charity Bake Sale / Art Exhibition February 13, 2009 Curated By Pres Rodriguez O.H.W.O.W 3100 NW 7 Avenue / Miami / Florida / 33127, There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists.- Leslie Moak Murray

Jim Drain
Aranzazu Gayoso
Michael Genovese
Jason Hedges
Alvaro Ilizarbe
Susan Lee-Chun
Nick D. Lobo
Justin Long
Lee Materazzi
Hugo Montoya
Bert Rodriguez
Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova
TM Sisters
Jen Stark
Jonathan Thomas
Kyle Trowbridge

Pres Rodriguez brings the local artistic community together in this one-of-a-kind Charity Bake Sale / Art Exhibition to benefit the Daily Bread Food Bank