Michael Freed Original Oil on Canvas

Michael Freed Original Oil on Canvas

Large 1980's vintage oil on canvas by Micael Freed
Measures 67 1/4" (5' 7 1/4) wide X 66 1/8" tall (5'6 1/4")

Biography -
Michael Freed
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Michael Freed, spent most of his youth in rural towns on the great plains. He graduated from art school at the University of Oklahoma.

A five year stint as the director of a non-profit artists' organization and thirteen years in the art gallery business have brought him full circle back to his own art.

An affinity for the artists of the Renaissance and his interest in figurative art have heavily influenced his approach to his work. Some time in Chicago and San Francisco has also been an important aspect of his life and art.

Michael Freed lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Education

1990 BFA, Painting, University of Oklahoma

1981 BA, Journalism/Advertising, University of Oklahoma


Awards

1993 New Forms Regional Initiative Grant (NFRIG), NEA, Rockefeller Foundation, and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts funded award. Criteria includes non-traditional media and non-traditional presentation.

1993 Sudden Opportunity Fund Grant, Visual Artists Coalition, supplemental grant applied to NFRIG project, Thrones of Warriors Installation.

Michael Freed quote regarding his artist style:
I am most interested in the human form and in particular the male nude. These images come from my interest in pursuing the idea of middle age and the less-than-perfect body type as opposed to the glamorized male youth so prominent in our mass media.

They are all self-portraits as I strive to look at my own body with an artist's eye, analyzing the flaws within the form, the changes wrought by age, and the compositions of the flesh.

I am also interested in the subtlety of gesture and what we say with our hands and body movements. How we touch each other, how we touch ourselves is of particular interest to me.

Another aspect of my work is that of composing the body as landscape. By framing my compositions the way I do, I strive for an unconventional way of viewing the form in a broader "landscape" context.

I have no desire to be a photo-realist in the execution of my work. I am much more interested in the representation of form in a more ethereal way and also blending that into the realm of abstract and two-dimensional space.

I hope with this series to inspire people to look at the male human body as the natural, beautiful form that it is.

To read more about Michael Freed:
https://www.sfreporter.com/guides/pride/2018/06/27/the-art-of-deviance/

Current art my Michael Freed for sale:
https://owencontemporary.com/michael-freed/terrace-series-disc-orange-sparkle-22-diameter