Michael has had successful exhibitions in both Australia and France displaying and selling his sculptured, sketched and painted works. Michael's most recent exhibition (Le Vesinet, Paris, February 2017) drew on his love of people and the places they inhabit. In this work he explores the faces and architecture of France, seeking to capture the almost inarticulable atmospheres and characteristics of urban and rural environments. The exhibition was highly attended and opened by Mdm Catherine Politis, the Cultural Ambassador for the City of Vesinet. Plans are currently underway for another exhibition to take place in Paris, mid 2017.
In his earlier European exhibition ( Apoge, Paris, December, 2015) Michael explored the atmospheres and cultural practices that make France so unique. A celebration of light, history and personality this collection of paintings and sculptural works are a true product of the rich Parisian environment that inspired them.
Michael says of this series
The light in France is soft and fascinating in contrast to the sometimes harsh light in Australia, and I am caught by the depth of the country’s history. There are so many interesting differences between the French and Australians, one that stands out being the devotion here to what one eats and drinks. In my painting Déjeuner Café Flore I have tried to capture that passion, displayed by a single man focused on his lunch. In Coté Marché, the focus is on the young man being advised about life by his father, but they’re still doing it at lunch!
Old villages like those in the Auvergne speak to me of the lives lived in them over hundreds of years. My paintings of the little villages of Lavoûte-Chilhac and Lavaudieu try to show the steady rhythm of life in those almost timeless places.
