Luca Sforzini Arte - Michael GREEN (Nyasaland, East Africa/Malawi 1929)

Note su Michael GREEN : Michael Green (1929) nasce a Nyasaland, Africa Orientale (ora Malawi), all’epoca parte dell’Impero britannico, dove trascorre i primi anni di vita prima di rientrare in  Inghilterra per l’educazione scolastica.

Si trasferisce a New York all’età di 23 anni, e lì diventa un pittore professionista, dedito all’astrattismo. Stabilisce il suo primo studio a SoHo quando il quartiere era ancora un’area frequentata da artisti d’avanguardia. Negli stessi anni si ritaglia un secondo studio in Italia settentrionale, nell’entroterra ligure, preservando così un’influenza “europea” nella sua pittura. E’ poi “Artist in Residence” all’Indiana State University. Nei suoi anni americani incontra molti artisti di fama internazionale come Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, William Baziotes; lavora e collabora a vario titolo con loro.

Nel 1986 lascia lo studio di New York e torna a Londra, dove si stabilisce in una vecchia fabbrica di biscotti per cani sul Tamigi. Lì comincia a produrre anche sculture.

Il suo chiodo fisso come astrattista per 40 anni è stato lo spazio : lo spazio della mente, un’infinità intellettuale. Mancando nella sua pittura i tradizionali riferimenti spaziali naturali (cielo, prospettiva,orizzonte), Green necessita di alternative idiomatiche.

Da qui nasce la sua “Bridge Series” (“Serie dei Ponti”) – il “ponte” metaforico è il suo schema spaziale, volto a creare la tensione spaziale che nella realtà è intrinseca ad ogni ponte concreto : spazio, struttura e tensione. Nel 1986 quasi inevitabilmente comincia a produrre anche sculture : lo spazio è automaticamente intrinseco alla dimensionalità della scultura. L’attuale “Painted Drawing Series” (“Serie dei Disegni Dipinti”) cerca di coinvolgere più direttamente l’osservatore col suo lato creativo tramite movimenti pittorici emozionalmente intensi.

Nel 2012 Michael Green registra la sua parte di “Artists’ Lives”(“Vite d’Artisti”) per il progetto della British Library : una lunga intervista (20 ore di registrazione) in cui Green racconta personalmente la sua vita d’Artista per gli archivi permanenti della British Library e della Tate Gallery.

Nel mese di novembre 2012 inizia la collaborazione di Michael GREEN con Luca Sforzini Arte, Galleria d’Arte italiana ed internazionale.

Selezione di Collezioni pubbliche e private che annoverano opere di Michael Green:

• British Museum Permanent Collection : Prints and Drawings (six works)
• Imperial War Museum Permanent Collection (conflict-related works)
• Indiana State University Permanent Collection
• Smithsonian Institute
• Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York City
• I.N.A. Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
• Pepsi Cola Corporation
• Exxon
• Otis Elevators
• Faberge
• C.P.C. International
• N.L.Industries Inc.
• Hyatt-Regency Inc.
• Johnson & Higgins (N.Y.C.)
• Monagri Foundation

Selezione di Mostre personali:

• 2012 Painted Drawing Series, Luca Sforzini Arte Gallery, Casteggio (PV) Italy
• 2007 Painted Drawing Series, The Great Hall, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Smithfield, London
• 2005 The Chain of Time, Rivington Gallery, London
• 2001 Michael Green - An Artists Career, Rivington Gallery, London
• 1995 The Bridge Series Drawings, a retrospective, Coombs Contemporary Gallery, London
• 1992 The Cyprus Works - large oils, collages, assemblage and sculpture, Morphi Gallery, Cyprus (Artist in Residence)
• 1985 Planned Space Paintings, Viafora Gallery, New York City
• 1982 Paintings from the Bridge Series, Hunnings Gallery, New York City
• 1980 The Bridge Series, Turman Gallery, Indiana State University, USA

Selezione di Mostre collettive:

• 2001 Summer and Autumn, gallery artists, Rivington Gallery, London
• 1998 Box Constructions (20 year survey), Megalomedia, London
• 1998 Bridge Series Drawings, Megalomedia, London
• 1998 Vital Art ’98, Large sculptures and three dimensional oils, Atlantis Gallery, London
• 1998 Built, Planned space oils, Cowcross Gallery, Artnet, London
• 1998 La Via dell’Oro Nero, Sculptures, Liguria, Italy
• 1997 Painted Drawings, Oil on paper, Coombs Contemporary, London
• 1996 Painted Drawings, Coombs Contemporary, London
• 1996 14 large three dimensional oils, assemblages and sculpture, Cilntec, London
• 1996 Bridge Series Drawings, Austin Knight, London
• 1995 Endangered Wildlife, Lamont Gallery, London
• 1995 Festival Art Show, Henley, England and Co Gallery
• 1995 Large Sculptures, Raw Gallery, London
• 1994 Box (Box sculptures), Walsall Museum
• 1994 Summer Group Show, Raw Gallery, London
• 1994 Whitechapel Gallery Biennial, Open Studio Show
• 1993 Art in Boxes, 4th Annual Show, England and Co. Gallery, London
• 1993 The Collage Show, England and Co. Gallery, London
• 1993 Art in Boxes, Castle Museum, Nottingham
• 1992 Art in Boxes, 3rd Annual Show, England and Co., London
• 1990 Homage to the Square, Flaxman Gallery, London

Notes on Michael GREEN : Michael Green (1929) was born in Nyasaland, East Africa (now Malawi) where he spent his first years before coming to England for his Public School education.

He moved to New York City when he was 23 and there he became a professional painter devoted to abstraction. He set up his first studio in SoHo while still only an avant-garde artist area. He established his second studio in Northern Italy, thus preserving a ’European’ ethos. He then was Artist in Residence at the Indiana State University. In his American years he met several internationally acclaimed artists such as Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, William Baziotes, and worked with them.

In 1986, he gave up his New York studio and moved back to London. He set up a studio in the old Spratt’s Dog Biscuit factory, where he began his first sculptures.

His pre-occupation as an abstract painter for four decades has been with space : the space of the mind, an intellectual infinity. Lacking nature’s spatial indicators (sky, perspective, horizon) idiomatic alternatives were needed.

Thus his extensive earlier “Bridge Series” -  the metaphorical “bridge” was his spatial ploy, creating the spatial tension that in reality is elemental to any actual bridge: space, structure and tension. In 1986 he naturally took up sculpture too : space automatically is intrinsic to sculpture’s dimensionality. The current long on-going “Painted Drawing Series” hopefully engages the viewer more directly with the creative self via emotional painted gestures.

In 2012 Michael Green records his “Artists’ Lives” for the British Library’s National Life Stories oral history project: a 20-hour long interview of Green’s life in his own words recorded for both the British Library’s and the Tate’s permanent archives.

In November 2012 Michael GREEN starts his partnership with Luca Sforzini Arte, Italian and International Art Gallery.

Public and private selected Collections:

• British Museum Permanent Collection : Prints and Drawings (six works)
• Imperial War Museum Permanent Collection (conflict-related works)
• Indiana State University Permanent Collection
• Smithsonian Institute
• Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York City
• I.N.A. Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
• Pepsi Cola Corporation
• Exxon
• Otis Elevators
• Faberge
• C.P.C. International
• N.L.Industries Inc.
• Hyatt-Regency Inc.
• Johnson & Higgins (N.Y.C.)
• Monagri Foundation

Selected Solo exhibitions:

• 2012 Painted Drawing Series, Luca Sforzini Arte Gallery, Casteggio (PV) Italy
• 2007 Painted Drawing Series, The Great Hall, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Smithfield, London
• 2005 The Chain of Time, Rivington Gallery, London
• 2001 Michael Green - An Artists Career, Rivington Gallery, London
• 1995 The Bridge Series Drawings, a retrospective, Coombs Contemporary Gallery, London
• 1992 The Cyprus Works - large oils, collages, assemblage and sculpture, Morphi Gallery, Cyprus (Artist in Residence)
• 1985 Planned Space Paintings, Viafora Gallery, New York City
• 1982 Paintings from the Bridge Series, Hunnings Gallery, New York City
• 1980 The Bridge Series, Turman Gallery, Indiana State University, USA

Selected Group exhibitions:

• 2001 Summer and Autumn, gallery artists, Rivington Gallery, London
• 1998 Box Constructions (20 year survey), Megalomedia, London
• 1998 Bridge Series Drawings, Megalomedia, London
• 1998 Vital Art ’98, Large sculptures and three dimensional oils, Atlantis Gallery, London
• 1998 Built, Planned space oils, Cowcross Gallery, Artnet, London
• 1998 La Via dell’Oro Nero, Sculptures, Liguria, Italy
• 1997 Painted Drawings, Oil on paper, Coombs Contemporary, London
• 1996 Painted Drawings, Coombs Contemporary, London
• 1996 14 large three dimensional oils, assemblages and sculpture, Cilntec, London
• 1996 Bridge Series Drawings, Austin Knight, London
• 1995 Endangered Wildlife, Lamont Gallery, London
• 1995 Festival Art Show, Henley, England and Co Gallery
• 1995 Large Sculptures, Raw Gallery, London
• 1994 Box (Box sculptures), Walsall Museum
• 1994 Summer Group Show, Raw Gallery, London
• 1994 Whitechapel Gallery Biennial, Open Studio Show
• 1993 Art in Boxes, 4th Annual Show, England and Co. Gallery, London
• 1993 The Collage Show, England and Co. Gallery, London
• 1993 Art in Boxes, Castle Museum, Nottingham
• 1992 Art in Boxes, 3rd Annual Show, England and Co., London