P R E V I E W S O F W O R K S F O R S A L E AT U P C O M I N G S H O W S C O A S T T O C O A S T J U N E 2 0 1 4 I S S U E 1 0 4

A M E R I C A N

C O L L E C T O R

Cover AAC104.indd 1Cover AAC104.indd 1 5/2/14 12:04 PM5/2/14 12:04 PM

118 www.AmericanArtCollector.com

1

Arcadia Contemporary

51 Greene Street | New York, NY 10013

(212) 965-1387 | www.arcadiacontemporary.com

UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / NEW YORK, NYJune 19-July 3, 2014

I n painter Michael Carson’s new exhibition—his fi rst solo show

at New York City-based Arcadia Contemporary—his fi gures,

always impeccably dressed, lounge on couches or in bare rooms

with false horizons painted on the walls. No one seems anxious to

be anywhere or to do anything. Time seems to wait for Carson’s

subjects to blink, and yet they never do.

“Obviously, there’s a narrative. You just can’t help but create one

when you see a face, but I specifi cally try to leave the narrative out

of it,” Carson says of his waiting fi gures and their casual lounging.

“I’m a people watcher to a fault. Coff ee shops, waiting at an airport,

on the street…I love watching people having an internal dialogue

with themselves. To me that’s just as interesting as a posed

painting. In my paintings there is an internal dialogue, one that

the viewer is not necessarily privy to.”

For his new show, the Arizona artist has been focusing more of

his studio time on the subtleties of his fi gures, especially faces.

Dwindling Window of Opportunity is a prime example: the male

fi gure, his edges lost in the graphical patterned background, peers

out of the painting while the female fi gure, her face turned and cast

in a brilliant light, hovers in angelic repose.

“There can be very graphical, sometimes nearly abstract

elements, to my paintings, but my fi gures are getting more

honed, more photorealistic, there’s a sense of realism to their

tones and their values,” Carson says. “For my fi rst New York

show, I’m really focusing on the faces, but also the compositions,

and spending more time on the drawing stage, as well. I need to

M I C H A E L C A R S O N

False horizons

2

MichaelCarson.indd 118MichaelCarson.indd 118 5/2/14 11:14 AM5/2/14 11:14 AM

119P

RE

VIE

W

3

1

Dwindling Window

of Opportunity,

oil on panel, 40 x 30"

2

Same Old Line,

oil on panel, 36 x 36"

3

Doppelganger,

oil on panel, 40 x 30"

feel the fi re in my eyes before I get going.”

Carson, who uses a transfer process to achieve some of the

intricate designs and textures on many of his works, says that

he enjoys creating “accidental designs” within his pieces. In

Doppelganger, most people would notice the female fi gure

mirrored across a vertical axis, but fewer viewers will notice

a horizontal axis that bisects the image like an equator. On

the top half, there is a pink background with the fi gures’ tan

dresses; on the bottom half is an inverse color combination, a

tan background with the fi gures’ pink legs.

“I love that sense of balance; it adds another element to the work.

I’ll put the horizon line in a place that will allow me to change up

colors. It also creates some interesting negative spaces,” Carson,

a former graphic designer, says. “Some people will look at those

paintings and they will never see it. I want to give them something

else to consider when they’re looking at my work.”

Carson’s new exhibition opens at Arcadia Contemporary on

June 19 and runs through July 3.

MichaelCarson.indd 119MichaelCarson.indd 119 5/2/14 11:15 AM5/2/14 11:15 AM