Michael Gute
- Texas
- Painting
My work is generally about two things, (a) making pictures that move back and forth between reality and the past, and (b) mark-making as evidence of the body. I approach painting with a theatrical and expressive perspective, drawing from sources in art history, theatre and...Read More
ABOUT THE ARTIST
STATEMENT
My work is generally about two things, (a) making pictures that move back and forth between reality and the past, and (b) mark-making as evidence of the body. I approach painting with a theatrical and expressive perspective, drawing from sources in art history, theatre and photojournalism. Different scenes dissolve into one another. For example, an image of a café owner closing his dinning room will bleed into a grove of mossy oak trees. Repetition of the figure is used to evoke authority and hierarchy in much of my recent work. I’m also interested in the themes of observance and powerlessness.
I use painting, drawing and scratching veiled over one another to build an accumulation of experience and memory. I’m aware of my intuition and appreciate how the body and mind work in a choreography to mark the surface. Paintings validate the artist’s body. They are products of our performance as well as reinforcements of hope and faith. Hope stays the artist through the working of a painting and faith tells them it’s finished.
BIO
Michael Norman Gute is an award winning artist working and living in Detroit, Michigan. He explains his approach to work in saying, “I’m interested in the process it requires to create paintings. I try to ignore the expectations that any artist naturally places on outcome, trusting the work to develop on its own. To my excitement and often great discomfort, my role -steeped in intuition- is to carry out the will of the materials.” Gute’s imagery draws from a careful observance of art history, theatre, and photojournalism.
Gute holds a baccalaureate degree in painting and art history from Kendall College of Art & Design and a master’s in historic preservation and museum administration from Eastern Michigan University. He is a candidate for a Master of Business Administration at Wayne State University where he also serves as associate director of development for the College of Education and Irvin D. Reid Honors College. He has earned a reputation as a speaker, seeker, successful entrepreneur and advocate.
EXHIBITIONS/SHOWS/COMMISSIONS
Solo Exhibitions
2020 - Distance Between Us, Shiawassee Arts Center, Owosso, MI
2019 - What it Means to Travel, The Gallery at Detroit Shipping Company, Detroit, MI
2018 - Together We Can, Pittmann-Puckett Gallery, Ferndale MI
Group Exhibitions
2021 - Disrupted Realism, Buckham Gallery, Flint, MI (invitation accepted)
2019 - 22nd Annual Show, Shiawassee Arts Center, Owosso, MI
2018 - 21st Annual Show, Shiawassee Arts Center, Owosso, MI
2018 - Juried Exhibition, Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI
2018 - Juried Exhibition, Ypsilanti Historical Museum and Archives, Ypsilanti, MI
2014 - Spring Exhibition, HMK Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2013 - Fall Exhibition, Gallery 104, Grand Rapids, MI
EDUCATION
2021 M.B.A., Finance, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
2017 M.S., Museum Administration, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
2013 B.S., Painting and Art History, Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, MI
TAGS
Painter, Movement, Disrupted Realism, Expressive Painting, History, Past and Present