Mtoleart

01/02/2025

22/11/2024

Well, it's not quite finished, but it's close. Title: Fantasy Football, of course.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a football fan, but it's a big part of our popular culture, and this work is deeply rooted in an exploration of popular culture. My wife is always trying to get me to watch a game with her, and finally I decided to try to appreciate the aesthetics of the action on its own terms. This is my only foothold because I don't have a favorite team to root for. We don't look at football players the same way we do say...ballet dancers (any form of dance is more overtly appreciated aesthetically than a game like football or baseball)...but there is a beauty to the sport that goes beyond touchdowns and tackles. Here's football by way of Tiepolo.

Look for this painting at my upcoming show, Pictures From The Queen's Collection, at Ferrara Showman Gallery this December through early February!

03/02/2024

A look at what's on the easel today.

05/08/2023

In progress. Why does Insta make it impossible to show all of a vertical image?!

28/06/2023

In progress.

20/04/2023

Come see us at ArtMarket, San Francisco!

30/11/2022

Come see the JFG booth at Art Miami, Booth AM110! I'm so grateful to be included in the JFG booth this year with so many wonderful artists.

15/11/2022

It never ceases to amaze me what a difference a great space can make for artwork. Here are some installation shots of Revisionist Histories at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery. We had a blast with the crew at the opening on Nov 5th! Closing reception in Dec 10th. Come out and see it in New Orleans!

03/11/2022

If you're in Seattle tomorrow, come see Folly!

November 3rd - 27th, 2022

Venue: Figure Ground Art Gallery

Curator: Jen Brown, [email protected]

Opening: Thursday November 3rd 5-8pm

122 S Jackson St. Suite 250, Seattle WA 98104

Tel: 206-641-7254

Gallery Director: Brett Holverstott, [email protected]

About the Exhibition

Many a self-help guru will expound the power of positive thinking. Don’t focus on the negatives in life, they say, and you will surely be happier, right? But every life is strewn with failures and mistakes, sometimes foolish ones. Reflecting on our follies helps us learn, grow, and become better people.

The artists in this show envision ideals and potential pitfalls in life. The characters they have imagined exhibit our flaws and serve as cautionary tales. May we be all the wiser for understanding the narratives woven throughout these works… and may we never swing a circular saw between our legs.

Artists

Aron Johnston, Carl Dobsky, Chris Pothier, Greg Hergert, Michael Tole, Steve Chmilar, Vincent Calenzo

Instagram Handles

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26/10/2022

I'm thrilled to announce my first solo show at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery coming up in November! This is the first solo show to feature my current work, The Revisionist Histories. The opening is Nov 5th, 5-9pm. Come out and see us if you're in New Orleans. Thanks to the JFG team for their support and hard work!

The spark for The Revisionist Histories was ignited a few years ago when I caught a glimpse of my pr***en daughters watching music videos on their iPad as I chopped veggies for dinner.  Out of the corner of my eye I caught glimpses of music videos featuring Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Doja Cat gyrating across the tiny screen.  A better parent might have snatched the iPad away, but I was overcome with hallucinatory visions of this pop diva pantheon dancing through the painted ceilings of Versailles and countless Bavarian Chapels.  Watching these videos, I observed that they employed an aesthetic that rested comfortably within Baroque and Rococo parameters, exhibiting chiaroscuro, ostentatious displays of wealth, over-the-top emotionalism, fantasy, self-aggrandizement, pastel color schemes, gender fluidity (a trait more Rococo than Baroque), and heaping piles of conventionally attractive women in provocative poses. Since then, the work has become an exploration of the continuities and disjunctures between 18th century visual culture, and that of today. What has changed, and what has remained the same, and what does that say about us? Can historical forms be revised to reflect new realities? I don't have answers, but I've painted a lot of questions...come see them in November!

24/06/2022

Oh, and my youngest daughter turns 10 today. It's a tooth and claw world, Julia. Be a tiger, not a lamb!

25/04/2022

I'm riffing on the Fete Galante genre invented by Watteau and expanded by Boucher, Fragonard, and others.