Michael McGrath Attempting spells and levitation, 2021 Material Acrylic, pastel and paper on paper Edition Size 1 Measurement 64,77 x 49,53 cm UNIQUE signed on the front Details about the frame Handmade black waxed maple wood frame, approx. 50 x 70 cm, including 10mm spacer bar, normal glass, including rear suspension The new and affordable way to buy contemporary art Strictly limited and signed art editions Limited stock From emerging talents to today’s most sought-after artists Easy and free sign-up to shop our weekly deals SIGN UP NOW Already have an account? About the artwork Women float above disintegrating horses, laughing suns shine on shadowy forests, trees look at you - these unique pieces are something very special, these four leaves seem to come directly from the subconscious of a brilliant child - or are they modern cave drawings, like remnants of incantations the Gods? Using a carefree mixed technique between acrylic, graphite and colored pencils, Michael McGrath draws, paints and collages the themes, or should we say - the creatures, that populate his large-format pictures, with which he currently works from Berlin to New York, in these small-format sheets causes a sensation. Direct and at the same time enigmatic, sometimes quoting old masters of Romanticism with figures viewed from the back, sometimes borrowing from symbolism, these four originals seem full of nightmares that are saved and thereby banished by depicting them in the visible world. Only when you find one of the few quotes from the taciturn creator does the trauma of these worlds seem to evaporate like morning fog: “As an adult, you tend to take yourself too seriously” - and really: isn't that horned creature at the bottom left just winking at us? About the artist You can see in the works of McGrath, who was born in 1977, that he trained in graphic design parallel to art - but you also admire the ease with which he defies every convention of painting technique or image composition and goes straight to expressing his very own inner worlds . The artist, who currently lives and works in the Hudson Valley, has, like few others, created his own visual world that doesn't let go of the viewer so easily. Precisely because his artfully composed works seem so naive and spontaneous, they look directly at you - like most of the gods and demons on the pages - and are reminiscent of a childlike world of spirits and friendly, animated natural creatures. The cheerfulness of his images is always astonishing. Latest Exhibitions (Selection) Solo exhibitions (selection): Cat Songs Galeria Casa Colón, Mérida, Mexico Some Small Threats Headstone Gallery, Kingston, NY Night Float Bonian Space, Beijing, China Gruppenausstellungen (Auswahl): West Bund Crossing Art, Shanghai, China Wytches Dorado 806, Santa Monica, CA Rocket Ship Soup Post Human IV, Brooklyn NY Beijing Contemporary Art Expo, Fir Gallery and Crossing Art Beijing, China Break in Emergency 4BYSIX, Shoreditch, London, UK Context Art Miami Crossing Art, Miami, FL The Utopian Spectacle Holly’s International / Fir Gallery, Beijing, China Summer Spectacular HeyThere Projects, Joshua Tree, CA Flow Fir Gallery, Beijing, China Links of Interest (Selection) artist-website Michael McGrath at Headstone Gallery, New York Video-Interview Discover More Art Michael McGrath All these gods need disguises, 2021 Michael McGrath Lessons from a night god, 2021 Bettina Krieg Joy revealed, 2024 Götz Diergarten + Sabine Dehnel + Andrea Esswein Limited Print-Edition DEDicated, 2021 Gert und Uwe Tobias o.T. (rosa), 2022 Joseph Beuys Der Schamane, 1984
