Michael St Amand
Michael St Amand
lakeland, FL
About Michael St Amand
Born 1958 Danbury CT USA Artist Statement My work speaks to the human condition: how we as humans can interpret an image or life event drastically different from one another depending on a host of influences -- being our personal faith or lack-there-of, personal history, our current situation in life, any number of things can and will influence how viewers experience my work. When images, identifiable forms, and icons in my paintings and constructs are addressed by the viewer they naturally associate what they determine the object to be with their own definition of that object. This results in their own -very personal- reactionary emotion. Whether it is hatred or shock, or passion or compassion, every person will create his or her own truth -- now attached to the work. What I do, ultimately, is take my own experiences and let them fill up “the tank,” so to speak, and then expel them by rebuilding what I find to be the truth of the matter, onto the canvas, or into a construct, drawing, or digital piece. I do this to invoke thought, and to inspire analysis. What inevitably transpires can be anything from reactionary rage to euphoric bliss -- it is in the conversation with the viewer. Some of my work can be perceived to have a spiritual aspect. There are many roads people travel to connect to a spiritual plane, though to some, the paths may be unconventional -- they are used to fill a void. The iconography, in some of the works, whether it be Buddha, Jesus, Ganesh, Shiva or an icon of a saint, all signify beliefs while causing a positive or negative reaction, depending on one's insight or discernment. Conversely, a bullet, riding crop, needles or skulls may have the same exact response which may arouse reactionary emotions. Art is spiritual. It speaks a universal language. My work encompasses a full range of emotions and what I feel as the work builds upon itself and what input I have from outside sources or personally. As I make the piece and as the flow and levels build, the deeper my emotional psyche and intuition come forth and the deeper I delve into a work. I am in an emotionally-frenzied state, laser beam-focused and in touch. Some artists say they try to detach themselves from their work, but for me, it is just the opposite. I become totally immersed and invested. For me, on the deepest level, the importance of the work reaches beyond the perceived meaning and lies in the process. The process is at the core, the heart, and is the basic language of the work. From the raw construction, to painting the initial base layer- one of what could be 20-30 layers or objects by the time the work is finished. Living with the work and adjusting and readjusting it until…it just does not hurt. The process is what regularly inspires me. When I can sit with the piece, I know it’s completed. When it is completed, I start again. The process never ends. My work can be used as a tool, to examine the truth of one's self and the truth of one's surroundings. Whether it is a perceived truth or actual truth, which there may or may not be a great difference between the two, the act of self-analysis through the engagement of viewing my art is always enlightening. My work is created to do just that. Michael St. Amand www.michaelstamand.com www.slavetovanity.com www.peaceandflambe.com
Education:
AWARDS 50 Contemporary Art Masters
MICHAEL ST. AMAND has the honor of being one of the 50 Contemporary Art Masters
by noted critic, writer and collector, Michael K. Corbin - January 1st 2015
Grants:
2013 U.S. Department of State Federal Assistance Award/Foreign Assistance
Act/FREEDOM Support Act issued by the Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy,
Tbilisi, Georgia
Participation in a contemporary art exhibit in Tbilisi, Georgia and conduct related speaking engagements
Events:
Michael St. Amand
Solo Exhibition
Gallery ICI LABAS
September 2018
Beijing, China
Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions:
2013 Michael St. Amand: Human Condition: Myths and Mayhem
The Signagi Museum, Signagi, Georgia
Michael St. Amand: Human Condition: Myths and Mayhem
Tbilisi History Museum - The Georgian National Museum - Tbilisi, Georgia
2005 NOW ART, Hollywood, Florida
2002 2D / 3D - "Works of Art by Michael St. Amand + Christopher Poehlmann" - Atelier Lizio, Naples, Florida
2000 SOCO Center for Cultural Arts, Ft. Myers, Florida
1995 Beauchemin Gallery, Tampa, Florida
1993 Griffin Gallery, Matlacha, Florida
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Ft. Myers, Florida
1991 Ward Lawrence Gallery, New York, N.Y.
Burnham Library, Bridgewater , CT.
Dominic Chiera Gallery, New Milford, CT.
1989 St. Amand / Barrer, RGA Gallery, Ridgefield , CT.
Works of Art Gallery, Gaylordsville, CT
1988 New Works, Richmond Center, New Milford, CT.
1985 Ever Changing Moods, H.A.L. New Milford, CT.
1984 Charles Ives Center, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT.
1983 Quintessence, H.A.L. New Milford, CT.
Select Group Exhibitions:
Vanda Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
Tincture Gallery, Ft. Myers, Florida
2015
NEW YORK NOW 015!, NY, NY
Tincture Gallery, Ft. Myers, FL
2014 Tincture Gallery : Invitational Group Show: Ft. Myers, Florida
Continuum: Sweet Art Gallery, Naples, Florida
2013 Punctum Contra Punctum II AMERICAN EDITION, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Ft. Myers, Florida
Punctum Contra Punctum II, The Georgian National Museum , National Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
Celebrating 5 Years of The Arts , Sidney & Berne Davis Arts Center, Fort Myers Florida
Visual ARTBEAT Magazine, Issue 11 "New Collections" (Article)
EAGL Gallery, quadriART 2013, Berlin, Germany (catalog)
Naples Museum of Art, INCOGNITO, Naples, Florida
Expose New Orleans: New Orleans, Louisiana
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA), Los Angeles, CA
2012 Watson Macrae Gallery, An All Male Review, Sanibel, Florida
Morean Arts Center St. Petersburg FL,
Punctum Contra Punctum
The Georgian National Museum, Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts,
, Tbilisi, Georgia. (catalog)
Naples Museum of Art , INCOGNITO, Naples, FL
Visual ARTBEAT Magazine Issue #8 - European Contemporary Art Magazine. Cover Story
2011 HC Parfumerie, Bilder Gallerie, Kassel Germany
Florida Gulf Coast University - Main Gallery | Community of Artists, Fort Myers, Florida
Alliance for the Arts | 25th Annual All Florida Exhibition, Fort Myers, Florida
Naples Museum of Art - INCOGNITO - Naples, FL (catalog)
Naples International Art Fair - Naples International Pavilion, Naples Museum of Art
2010
SCOPE Art Fair - Miami Florida. Booth#A32
Jurors: Elisabeth Sussman, Senior Curator, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,Jarrett Gregory, Curatory of Contemporary Art, The New Museum, New York, New York, Mollie White, Show Director, SCOPE Art Show
Naples Museum of Art, Have a Seat III, Naples Florida (catalog)
Michael St Amand | Slave To Vanity
Sidney & Berne Davis Arts Center Ft. Myers, Florida
2009 A Night to Remember Bruce Lee County Alliance of the Arts Ft. Myers Florida
Pandora’s Box
Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, Virginia (catalog)
Pink Tie Blues (Lee Memorial Hospital Health Foundation Benefit)
The Sidney and Berne Davis Arts Center, Ft Myers Florida
Morean Arts Center Members Show St. Petersburg, Florida (Honorable Mention)
Cone of Possibilities Lee County Alliance of the Arts, Ft. Myers, Florida
Arts For A.C.T.; bob Rauschenberg gallery Ft. Myers, Florida (catalog)
Naples Museum of Art, Have a Seat II - Naples Florida (catalog)
2008 Art Royale: Lee County Alliance for the Arts, Ft. Myers, Florida
Space 39 Modern and Contemporary Gallery Ft. Myers Florida
Wizard of the Arts : Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center Ft. Myers, Florida
Arts For A.C.T.; bob Rauschenberg gallery Ft. Myers, Florida (catalog)
Lawrence Voytek, Kat Epple, Michael St. Amand
Peace and Flambe' : Space 39 Modern and Contemporary Gallery and The Sidney and Berne Davis Arts Center, Ft Myers Florida