Michael Gardner is a visual artist who holds degrees in Women’s Fashion Design from F.I.T., a B.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University, and a Masters in Critical Theory from CalArts. He has worked in high fashion in NYC; and wardrobe for film, TV, and Broadway. He has shown his paintings in NY, Houston, and Los Angeles. In 2022 he was awarded the REEF Artist Residency from CalArts, a year long work that produced paintings and a performance; Hauntology of the Infra Thin. This show is a continuation of that work in this solo performance. Inspired by the work of Spaulding Gray, Laurie Anderson, and Sandra Bernhard, Michael adds his own unique approach to story telling with synthesized music and amplification.
Originally from Fargo, Michael moved to NYC at the height of the AIDS crisis to attend F.I.T. Surrounded by what he quickly found to be the ghosts of artists and stars he was inspired by as a teen and what had initially formed from this impetus to be also-that, Michael grasped what remained and looked to what still was. NYC was rapidly grinding to a halt in the late 80’s as the AIDS crisis decimated what could have become and what might have been his connection to – and instead became what he witnessed and was confronted by resultantly. We are all that each of us has, and being one who carries with him the past as experienced and inspired by, Michael draws upon this foundation for his work as an artist. In this performance Michael excavates from his life along with what he found in his Critical Theories studies at CalArts as a Hauntology; a kind of vaccinative-inoculator that performs its ghostly visits upon our lives continually as we move from our terminal present into the future.
In this performance Michael may or may not discuss: Shirley MacLaine, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Paul Thek, Prince, Robert Mapplethorpe, UFO’s, Whitley Strieber, Painting, Stephen Sprouse, Antonio, the AIDS Crisis, Tattoo’s, Millennials, Rene Ricard, Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, Smoking, Broadway Musicals and the stars he has worked with, Supermodels and Oscar de la Renta, Sandra Bernhard, the Chelsea Hotel, NY Nightclubs of the 80’s and 90’s, Psychedelics, Therapy, Parenting, and leaving NYC for LA.
Learn More at michaelgardnerart.com
