"Figuratively abstract" artist shares inspiration

Colorado creations | Colorado Sunday

By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 07/15/2007 01:28:55 AM MDT
"Figuratively abstract" artist shares inspiration

Who: Michael Gadlin

Medium: Wood panels using mixed media, which involves acrylic and latex house paints, ink, charcoal and cut paper.

His story: Growing up without much money and even fewer role models who reflected his multiracial background was daunting for a high school student aspiring to be an artist.

But Gadlin didn't allow that to stop him. He found support from teachers at Denver's East High School and representatives from the University of Denver who, upon reviewing his portfolio, pointed him in the direction of art school.

And after spending two years at one of the nation's leading art institutions, the Pratt Institute in New York, the artist "with a desire for classical romanticism, an urge to combine the old and the new and make it fresh," and a love for layers, developed his own style that he calls figuratively abstract.

"You can philosophize all day that painting is dead and that nothing is new, but my approach is to create a style that hasn't been seen," he said.

Now an established artist on the Colorado level, who feels "so close to art philosophy and lifestyle through Europeans," Gadlin aspires to touch people so much that his work is shown in museums around the world. But it is knowing that in high school he didn't have the foggiest idea of what he wanted to do - and was so intimidated he even feared branching out into the artistic arena - that motivates Gadlin to serve as a teacher and mentor to at- risk children in the Denver area.

In fact, he spent two weeks sketching and painting a piece for the Denver Polo Classic to be auctioned off at the Capital Grille Black Tie Ball on Friday to benefit the Children's Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for at-risk and disadvantaged Colorado children.

"It keeps you humble, it keeps you fresh, it keeps you real," Gadlin said. "You'd be surprised at the talent and need for this outlet."

Philosophy: "It's really cliché: Be true to yourself," he said. "It's being honest and through my work being honest. It translates into my spiritual walk with my wife and kids.

"At times we get tastes of happiness and being complete. The desire is so great you're cursed with it, in a good way. I never want any regrets. I don't want to wonder what would it be like if I'd try this," he said.

Price range: His work starts at $1,000 and can reach upward of $25,000. The average price falls between $5,000 and $15,000.

Where to find his work: Visit Gadlin's website at www.gadlinscanvas .com. His work is also shown at Spark Gallery in Denver and at The Aspen Gallery in Aspen, Colorado. - Desiree Belmarez, Denver Post staff writer

Creating a Legacy

TENACITY PROPELS A YOUNG ARTIST'S CAREER

Michael Gadlin remembers poring over a sketchpad at age eight, filling its pages with the pastels his mother bought for him off a grocery-store shelf. "It was like putting a puzzle together," he says of the energy he put into his nascent creations. "I recall finishing and thinking that this—filling in every white space on the paper in front of me—was the completion of something." It was, in fact, the start of something.

Gadlin would later go to the Pratt Art Institute in New York, where he threw himself into drawing and painting courses, taking away the coveted freshman prize of being one of a handful of students nominated for a full-ride scholarship for the balance of his undergrad years. The honor was huge for this fledgling artist who, two years into Pratt's four-year program, returned to Denver to be close to his mother as she battled terminal lung cancer.

While in Denver, Gadlin befriended up-and-coming artist Darrell Anderson, who had participated in the prestigious Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy, in December 2007. Anderson generously mentored Gadlin by giving him a gallery to work in for free in LoDo. "I don't think I realized then what a big deal it was that he gave me a key," reflects Gadlin. Beyond a key, Anderson schooled the budding young artist in the business aspects of pursuing an art career, urging Gadlin to promote himself and to pursue contracts for public art installations. Gadlin's first such honor was to create the art for District 2 Police Station. His 18 panels, each three feet by three feet, fill a nine-by-eight-foot wall and will, in Gadlin's words, outlive him and even his daughters—a legacy this humble but tenacious artist holds precious. Gadlin's art hangs in the Vance Kirkland Museum in Denver as well as in other museums.

Gadlin has come a long way from his days on the streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side, knocking on doors for a sketching job to supplement expenses at Pratt. Today, he often spends entire workdays, with painting palette in hand, inside his 400-square-foot studio at 15th and Pearl Street. He can recite a long list of serious local collectors who hang his work in their outsized homes that boast plenty of wall space. And yet, he still feels he's just getting started.

WRITTEN BY NANCY CLARK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE LEVINE

Public Art Program

Michael Gadlin: District Two Police Station
October 2004

The newest addition to Denver's public art collection is Michael Gadlin's acrylic painting, Bluecityjungle. The artwork was installed in the atrium of the newly built District Two Police Station, in Northeast Denver. The Artwork is composed of 18 separate panels, to form one large work of art, but when viewed up close they appear to be 18 unique compositions. Michael used figurative and abstract imagery in his work, leaving it up the viewer to make connections and discoveries.

District Two Police Station is located at 38th Avenue and Holly Street. To learn more on Michael Gadlin, please visit his profile page.

Bluecityjungle

Person Michael Gadlin

Right click for SmartMenu shortcuts

Michael Gadlin, born in Denver, Colorado has been exhibiting work throughout the United States for over 15 years. As a very young artist, Gadlin studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League of Denver. After earning some of his tuition money from the sales of pastel and charcoal drawings while in high school, Gadlin attended Pratt Institute in New York where he majored in Communication Design and Illustration. In 1999 Gadlin was the youngest artist ever to win "Best Of Show" at Denver's nationally renowned Cherry Creek Arts Festival. The Vance Kirkland Museum acquired a work of his as part of their permanent collection. Gadlin is currently exhibiting in Aspen, Denver, Vail, and Telluride Colorado. Gadlin's well-received public art installation, which was completed in 2004, hangs permanently in Denver's District 2 Police Station. The Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art selected Gadlin to be included in the museum's 2008 "Rocky Mountain Biennial." He currently works in Colorado, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. For more examples of Michael Gadlin's work, calendars of exhibits, and contact information, visit www.Gadlinscanvas.com.

Painting, for me, is an exploration and response to familiar and expressive elements around me, in nature, and within my spirit. My emotions and desires are realized within the breadth of my work, that is, to illustrate and capture a sense of understanding toward my appreciation for Classical Romanticism throughout art history; Yet, at the same time I seek to display a reverence for modern and contemporary substances that are relevant and meaningful. From these perspectives it is my hope that my work will one day land an important place in art history. - Michael Gadlin

FCMOCA: Fort Collins Museum Of Contemporary Art

Michael Gadlin's work is currently represented in the 2009 Rocky Mountain Biennial in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Below is the invite with details.
The show runs through January 2009.