Michael Hames
Canadian Contemporary
Michael Hames was born in
Ontario in 1952 and raised in southern Alberta. He studied at the Alberta
College of Art, and upon graduation in 1975, was awarded the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation grant. After teaching drawing at Selkirk
College in the late 1970s, and supporting himself as a tower man on the fire
lookouts in the mountains of southern Alberta, Michael headed to the west coast
in the mid-1980s. Here, he earned an excellent reputation supplementing his
income as an illustrator and began in earnest to show his artwork, the result
of which led to his twice exhibiting in Canadas National Museum.
The last decade has seen Michaels artistic career
flourish. Not content to rely on
whats become easy and known to be saleable, Michael is constantly
experimenting with medium and technique and is equally competent in graphite, oil and mixed media, as well as
various sculpture techniques.
Michael moved to Nova Scotia in 2008. In November of
2009, he was honoured with a second Elizabeth Greenshields
Memorial Foundation grant, and in early 2010, two of his works were accepted
for purchase by the Nova Scotia Art Bank. Time spent working alongside a
construction crew in India in 2012 was the inspiration for a large body of
thought-provoking work. In the
summer of 2013, The Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain acquired
one of these pieces, a monotype entitled The Labour Market for its permanent
collection. This piece will be a
part of their next catalogued exhibition.
A basis of the creative process is for me a
sincerity of intentthe intention being simply to
adhere
to the ethic of creative development. To rely on a single technical skill is to
follow a recipe of
recognisable
style and is a declaration of creative limitation or a submission to fiscal
responsibilities.
The manipulation of
unfamiliar materials introduces technical challenges in the forms of accidents,
Opening doors to fresh
approaches to increasingly old subjects.
Michael Hames is represented
by the Secord Gallery in Halifax , Nova Scotia, and in
British Columbia his work can be found at Steffich Fine Art, Salt Spring
Island.
Portraiture Landscape
Sculpture Figurative Drawing
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