This week from The Cat's Eye:

Walking into the Jan Baum Gallery for the opening of Michael Abraham’s first LA exhibition was like seeing the light for the first time. Literally. Apparently I’m not the only one to appreciate Abraham’s sensibilities. He has sold his light-filled, awe inspiring work to the likes of Courtney Cox and others, and has exhibited globally.

Observing the work, I felt like a little girl in a grown-up scenario. I wanted cookies and jammies…the paintings were like a story-telling session for a thoughtful mature audience. And the crowd was as cozy as the comfort I felt from the work. Small…un-pretentious…kind. LA can often and thankfully take a risk and feature daring work…Michael Abraham is no exception.

I wasted no time in exchanging cards with the artist and upon his return to Vancouver we sat down for a little email interview. Here is a small section of a lengthy interview...a bit of insight into Abraham. But really…just go see the work. You’ll smile. You’ll think. You’ll raise an eyebrow. The show runs through June 30th at the Jan Baum Gallery on La Brea Ave.

Q: When I first saw your pieces online, I was drawn to your understanding of light. Upon seeing the real thing, even more so. Since your pieces seem so fantastical, what sort of reference point do you use to be able to capture this light so beautifully?

Michael Abraham replies: I was interested initially in form, creating form, and came to realize it was by understanding light that form was created. I remember staring into the corner of a room, trying to figure out how light works, with it bouncing around, creating reflected light, highlights, hardness and softness of shadows, local color… it is an intriguing game to realize an image from the imagination… but by observing and analyzing about how light works in reality, I am able to apply what I’ve seen when creating imagined scenarios. I don’t use photo references… I build up and image always thinking of how the light can play in a piece to make it come to life. … so much to think about and enjoy in the process of sight! The human eye can pick up the subtlest of tonal contrasts… There are so many reasons why I love painting!

Q: Your work has such a childlike (for lack of a better word) quality in terms of aesthetic and ambiance, while simultaneously attacking a very "adult" perspective in terms of subject and theme.
How would you describe the work? And have you ever considered illustrating for children's stories for example?

MA: I like to call the work ‘psychological realism’, which ties it to concrete thoughts. I think the work reveals the development of my awareness to myself and the world… I realize now that our minds have a developmental stage, just like the body, and in some ways I am capturing my own development… but it is a universally shared mental process, at least for people who mature, so I think the work holds a universal appeal because of it. I think that the work is open to interpretation, as each of us is at a different point in our development.

I try to stick to my own ideas, because I have a fear that once I illustrate for others I will lose myself in the process, so I have a protectionist approach to my craft.

Q: This is your first show in L.A. I know nothing of the art scene in Canada…How does it feel to show in L.A. and what are your feelings in regards to the "scene" here (in LA specifically) versus Toronto?

MA: I am happy to have a show in LA! LA is a bigger market, but also has more artists vying for attention!

The MOCA fundraiser is a good indication of how many creative artists there are here. Artists are often independently working, so connecting with LA people is a nice way of demystifying the ‘over-there-ness’ of life. I think Art is more daring in LA than in a lot of smaller centers, because it incorporates low brow creators into high brow galleries… something not seen in Vancouver, where even the best galleries play it safe. I think the graffiti and street stuff here is alive and amazing overall! So many walls to take home!
I wanted to show in LA to enjoy connection with artists in a larger region than the one I come from. It creates new potentials for experience.
There are so many creative people vying for attention, and so to have the opportunity to have this show in Hollywood is pretty cool. In LA I am an unknown entity, so it is like starting from scratch! It will be fun to see how the next few years progress.

Q: At your opening we discussed briefly your viewpoint and need to segregate oneself from "the outside world" to gain a focus on one's work.
If you could give any advice, inspiration, or warnings to young artists what would they be?

MA: I think that having one’s time away from the stimulation, time for reflection, and processing of experience is important. I think most creative people have this ability and/or need to walk away for a while. It is why we create our sanctuaries, our studios, to be alone with our thoughts and feelings… I find I need to have trips away from Vancouver to go to the major centers (New York London, Toronto, LA…) to get food for thought, but to live in it constantly I would find it challenging to create, as I think my mind doesn’t have time to develop ideas fully, and or to actually spend the time to create the work. I am amazed at how awful the world can seem when my own thoughts are distracted by the influx of bad, sad, mad, negative, threatening, fear inducing messages on a continual basis… It does not make for a healthy mind… But aloneness can also create the same problems. I guess finding the balance of inside and outside worlds is important… I treasure connection, as much as I treasure my alone time!

Hmm words of advice for young people… There is a William S Burroughs reading put to music that makes me laugh… one of the lines was “avoid fuck-ups.” So I guess asking lots of questions, experiencing the world from many angles, and staying open are essential… Trust but verify. Gurus are good, but only for a while! LOL! Avoid laziness.

Q: I find in speaking with so many artists on an individual basis that many have become so confident and rooted in their current work that I fear for their growth as artists in the future. Like once they reach their quota of solo exhibitions, they've maxed out and there is no room to grow. Any thoughts??

MA: Great question! I think that every artist hits points where they ask themselves the same question, “Am I growing?” Think of Jim Dine now doing Pinocchio! What a great and surprising change of direction! I am optimistic that there is always room to grow!

The fear is not maxing out room to grow with the work, it is room to grow in terms of venues to show and sell. Each gallery is so specific as to what each shows, that really in any given city there really is only a few galleries for each artist or type of art, even with the number of galleries being so high. Again I must say I have been very lucky to make a living just making art for the last fifteen years, as I see the struggles other have had.

I am not really a formulaic artist, and I don’t really work in series, so I think randomness and uncertainty is both angst filling and keeps the ideas interesting for me! I actually question if my mind is to busy to stay with one thing long enough! A lot of artists stay with one idea and brand themselves with it…hmmm I guess we are who we are, but there must be no fear in changing direction from time to time!

I know my technique is a bit slower than most peoples, and I often think I want to loosen up a bit! That is where I see change, as I am confident I have the ability to get what I want. But the technique is only the visual appearance, the inner growth occurs regardless of what the work looks like. I think we don’t stay anchored in one place within, even if we want to. Otto dix, Magritte, Picasso, so many examples of people who change and grow…We are like the flowers, and once we are watered with thoughts, language, experience we have no control over the fates.

Just saw the Rufino Tamayo exhibit in Santa Barbara, and enjoyed seeing the transition over his lifetime, so I know there will be progression in mine as well! What that progression is I do not know!

For more info on Abraham and his show at Jan Baum check out these sites!!
www.michaelabraham.com
www.janbaum.com