MICHAEL UNDERWOOD
ARTIST STATEMENT
Inside my images, history and wonder intertwine with elements of my own life, one which has uniquely prepared me for the world of fine art. My childhood was filled with travel and possibility through ancient and evocative landscapes, inspiring and beautiful.
As a filmmaker, I have traveled even more extensively, accompanied always by my camera, aiming every place I go to spot the infinite in the unexpected. Because of my rich directorial and cinematography background, I have approached my work with a visual voice, a storyboard-like narrative deeply nuanced, complex, and highly conceptual, striving always to uncover a fresh and timeless vision.
After the rush and deadlines of film and video, my transition to the world of fine art has been an awakening for me, a chance to breathe, to lose myself in the creative process, unfettered by time. In my studio, images unfold bit by bit, opening the door of memory but never with a creative direction. The creative process rules there. I never know where it will lead.
From start to finish, my intent is to draw viewers into a world strangely familiar but yet unknown, a world that reveals itself slowly, as if they are seeing something both again and for the first time. I want each image to be encountered leisurely, viewers alone with the work, lingering, finding connections, treasuring it, longing for it later as fond memories return.
My hope each day is that my efforts will simultaneously perplex and please viewers eager for the freshness of new wonders.