Chianciano Art Museum
Critical Analysis Artist: Mark Michael Art Critic: Karen Lappon
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
Critical Analysis Artist: Mark Michael Art Critic: Karen Lappon
The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display. Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt. The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504
Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
The Critic
Karen Lappon, born in Santander, Spain, is an Italian art critic and essay writer that operates in London, UK. Although an expert on the Italian Renaissance period, Lappon is also great admirer of contemporary art. Karen studied at the “I Liceo Artistico in Via Ripetta” and at the “La Sapienza” University in Rome. A book of great interest curated by Karen is the “2nd Millenium”, the publication of an important exhibition at the Lord Leighton Museum, in which the talent and art of the prominent painter, Frances Turner - selected 5 times in a row for the BP Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London - is highlighted. This artist has been spotted and appreciated by another great critic, Normal Searle, that wrote an article in the Evening Standard on one of Frances’ paintings. “Vita e Opere di Antonio Sbrana” is a publication in which Lappon ties the activity of Sbrana and his influences on the “Macchiaioli” of the 19th century, like Natali and Fattori. A publication that illustrates the continuity of this movement and how it is still present in Italy today. Besides being a consultant for the Chianciano Museum of Art, Karen Lappon is part of the Board that selects artists for the Biennale, a difficult task that she has undertaken since 2009, along with other curators, to choose 100 artists out of 2000 applicants that will be part of the Chianciano Biennale. Karen is part of the jury of the London Biennale where 120 artists, selected from 40 different countries participate, and has been chosen by the organisers to accompany the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea during the opening of the biennale.
“Social Subterfuge” acrylic on canvas by Mark Michael
The Artist
Mark Michael was born in 1982 and in 2004 he graduated with honors in Sculpture at Winchester School of Art. He paints from his studio near Warsash, Hampshire, UK. Mark’s early paintings were heavily influenced by his background as a sculptor, displaying elements of structure, a strong visual style with a concise use of colour and simple iconography. His work has turned towards creating a visual balance by juxtaposing humour and challenging subject matter, leading some to label him as a satire artist. In 2011 he produced a large collection of short sharp phrases called ‘Cold in the Sun’. With the writing of this book he was able to finally begin bridging the gap between my love of the written word and my passion for painting. In 2013 he took the process further with the exploration of applying hand painted text, creating a series of fictional stories across large canvases, ‘We Run Like Stray Dogs in the Rain’ collection for 10 Days Winchester Biennial 2013. In 2013-14 Mark began to work on a series of 12 portraits, which were shown within a group exhibition in association with ‘The Royal Society of Portrait Painters’. Mark has exhibited in group and solo shows in London and across the south coast of England: “7 Artists” at The Strand Gallery and a solo exhibition “I Want You Baby” at Aura Mayfair. In 2015 he exhibited at the Chianciano Biennale in Tuscany and he won the First Prize at the Open Art Exhibition at the Sherfield Gallery and he was selected as a finalist and exhibited at the Lacey Contemporary Gallery in London.
“Cold Feet” acrylic on canvas by Mark Michael
The Critique Mark Michael is an extraordinary person besides being an exceptionally talented artist. He has the rare ability to clearly understand and pinpoint the true inner emotional conflict that afflicts men, and portray it through the totality of his artworks: from the title of his pieces, to the hand painted words, to the actual paintings. Mark studies human nature and the psyche in all its most discordant aspects and portrays the many superstructures and facades it creates. His compositions are a melange of styles. Surrealism, Symbolism, Pop Art, Pittura Metafisica are all palpable in his works. Troubled solitary figures perturbed by their dual ambivalent layers; overpowering symbolic figures representing the true nature of their inner feelings; other smaller, lingering figures representing the complexity of the human soul, all set in still, uniform backgrounds, to represent the importance of the subjects’ emotional state in a precise moment in time and life. Incorporating hand painted texts into his artworks only emphasises and completes the multilevel sensory message. Words are a complement to the meaning of his paintings in addition to being an integral part of the aesthetic, visual expression of his art. Very in vogue in the 80s, this kind of graphic art was extremely utilised by Barbara Kruger, Sophie Kalle and Christopher Wool, among others, to convey a stronger, more comprehensive significance to their expressive means of communication. Strong, unblended contrasting colours identify the different moments and aspects of Mark’s creations. Complementary and analogous hues skillfully utilised to stop time, versus the loose, gestural brushwork reminiscent of Kokoshka, that highlight action, movement and life. His colours are alive and vibrant and at the same time still and deep. Again colour underlines duality and conflict in an explicitly comprehensive manner, enabling the viewer to immediately empathise with the protagonist of Mark’s paintings. Time is another important feature in Mark’s paintings. He represents time as physical objects or as motion, as the ever-present change. But what fascinates the artist most is the way in which “time influences the facades and personas we establish around us”. As Heraclitus said: “There is nothing permanent except change”. A true artist in the best and most complete sense of the term. The Basquiat of the twenty-first century.
Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics
“Mervin” acrylic on canvas by Mark Michael
“The Thespian” acrylic on canvas by Mark Michael
International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org