MICHAEL VASQUEZ
BIO
Michael Vasquez is an American artist most recognized for his works that explore identity and the cultivation of community amidst an inherent disposition of broken homes inside marginalized neighborhoods. Through figurative painting and portraiture he legitimatizes this complex social landscape; narrating neighborhood events, mischief, and the trials and tribulations that come with the territory as his subjects navigate the expectations and pressures of their peers and society at large.
Vasquez cites his upbringing as an only child of a single parent mother—growing up without a father figure, and without siblings— as a source of inspiration for the work, and what attracted him to social situations where notions of an “extended family” were prevalent; and where a sense of, or an illusion of, identity, community, and wholeness existed.
Utilizing his own photographs of friends and familiar environments as source material, Vasquez configures his subjects into dramatic and powerful, often larger than life compositions. With paint, he then translates these images in a language of mark making that transcends representational likeness to describe the emotion, attitude, and energy of the sitter(s), setting, and the relationship between the two. He implements visual cues that inform identity such as color, specificity of clothing, hand signs, symbols, and tattoos; while maps, neighborhood landmarks, signage, and native foliage describe environment and establish location. The resulting works illuminate a pivotal and punctuating period in his subjects’ lives; a challenging time when both a sense of inner self and outward, often conflicting perceptions are formed.
Michael Vasquez was born in St. Petersburg, Florida; USA where he currently live and works. He graduated from New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida in 2005 and began his career as an artist. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally in galleries and institutions such as the Saatchi Gallery, London; the Americas Society, New York City; The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C.; and in Florida at the Frost Art Museum; MOCA North Miami; the Orlando Museum of Art; the Naples Museum of Art; the Bass Museum, and the Miami Art Museum. In addition, he has mounted solo museum exhibitions at the Kemper Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN; and the Miami-Dade College Museum of Art + Design, Miami, FL.
Vasquez’s work is a part of many notable collections including MOCA North Miami, the Perez Art Museum Miami, the Nova Southeastern University Museum of Art, The Dean Collection, The Franks-Suss Collection, the Microsoft Art Collection, the Montblanc Cutting Edge Art Collection, and The Rubell Family Collection, among others.
Currently, his work is included in “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” which debuted at the Baltimore Museum of Art and will subsequently travel to the Saint Louis Art Museum; Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany; Cincinnati Art Museum, and Art Gallery of Toronto, Canada.