Michael DeLuca: Big Puffy, 2019, pastel on paper, 17" x 17"

About:

I'm interested in visual oppositions, particularly the tangible versus the intangible, the two-dimensional versus the three-dimensional, and the graphic versus the atmospheric. I've been working from flat silhouettes that I cut out and mount on highly reflective paper. I place these shapes in a context out of time and illuminate them with a single top light. I then create drawings from them, where the process can last several days pushing and pulling endless amounts of subtle information.

I gravitate towards shapes with specific gestures within them. I think of them as being flat, but malleable; static, but expressive. I'm not interested in the grand or flashy gestures, just a simple nudge or bend is enough. Ultimately, I see these awkward but earnest shapes taking on figurative characteristics that playfully comment on the human condition.

Bio:

Michael was born in Philadelphia, PA, and currently lives and works in Paoli, PA. He earned his MFA in Painting from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, and his BFA in Painting from Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. For a brief period of time, he also studied Painting and Drawing at the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland. Since graduating from Indiana in 2002, Michael has been teaching all levels of Drawing as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at Arcadia University. Michael's work has appeared in numerous gallery and university exhibitions across the United States, including "Drawing Resurfaced II" at Purdue University Galleries, "The Great Lakes Drawing Biennial" at Eastern Michigan University School of Art & Design, and "Drawn 4th and 5th Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing" at Manifest Gallery. He was the recipient of CFEVA's (Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA) Emerging Artist Fellowship, and has appeared multiple times in the publication New American Paintings.
Michael understands drawing as a medium unto itself. Working exclusively with pastel on paper, he uses 2-dimensional graphic shapes as subject matter to explore ideas of gesture, motion, and cause & effect. His shapes are flat, but malleable; minimal, but full. Sometimes they're observed, and sometimes they're invented. Either way, it's their ability to expand, stretch, slouch, or bend that interests Michael the most.

www.michaeldeluca.net