Interview with Michael Pfleghaar, Still Lifes Between Realism and Abstraction

“My artistic model lies somewhere in between abstraction and realism with colourist sensibility.”

By Increase Artwork | 21 Sept 2022

Michael Pfleghaar has recently joined Rise Artwork, bringing his Hockneyesque Even now Lifes works to the platform. Michael is an illustrator, painter and ceramicist. Checking out features of self-reflection and materiality, the artist applies flat place, basic, cleanse lines, and balanced nevertheless daring colors to his operates, creates archaeological dialogues between scenes, settings, and objects.

Michael implementing underglaze to some new greenware ceramic sculptures (@pfleghaar)

How would you explain your inventive design?

My inventive design and style lies someplace among abstraction and realism with colourist sensibility. My intention is to combine the two opposing artistic models into a special visible language characterised by flattened area and exaggerated color. Modern style is also an influence in my perform as it seems to comply with a equivalent visible aesthetic and content for topic issue.

Sound Liquid Glass, 2019, by Michael Pfleghaar

What messages or themes do you want to communicate with your get the job done?

The important topic in my work is associations. Objects and crops depicted in my compositions turn out to be the surrogates for the determine and how they relate to each individual other visually and symbolically.

Wire Plant Stand, 2019, by Michael Pfleghaar

How has your observe evolved above the years? Have you usually worked in an abstract style?

Around the years my art apply has diversified from dark figurative narratives in my undergraduate scientific tests to individual inside spaces and however daily life. In graduate university my perform developed to totally non-objective although working with the exact same themes of associations. I have considering the fact that occur again to realism drawing from life as an autobiographical resource whilst combining components of abstraction.

Michael doing work on a home job at residence (@pfleghaar)

What is an average day like in your studio? 

I see myself as an art employee so my studio observe is priority. On a regular day I arrive close to 9am and get the job done on various paintings at the same time. Commonly a person huge scale piece on canvas and a handful of drawings. I enjoy creating in collection as perfectly, exploring themes as a result of a physique of do the job. Afternoons are used carrying out the enterprise aspect of artwork, documenting work, updating sites, making use of for exhibits, etc.

Monstera Shadows 1, 2021, by Michael Pfleghaar

What/Who are your vital influences?

My influences differ from outdated school painters these as Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Contemporaries like David Hockney, Jonas Wooden, Paul Wackers, Nathalie du Pasquier, Carrie Moyer, Amy Sillman and modernist designers this kind of as Ettore Sottsass, Charles and Ray Eames, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Agave at Evening, 2021, by Michael Pfleghaar

Who are some Increase Artwork artists with work you might be taking pleasure in at the minute?

Lisa Kellner went to the very same Graduate School in Boston as I, so I get pleasure from and found her do the job on Rise Artwork.

Dim Botanical 4, 2022, by Michael Pfleghaar

Are you presently doing work on any exciting new projects?

This yr has been a active a single in the studio with lots of fee paintings and receiving again into clay developing a overall body of botanical encouraged ceramic objects.