Quote in GQ Magazine
September 1, 2012
“So You Think You Can Paint” GQ Magazine
I am quoted in the article by Matthew Power about artprize in Grand Rapids, MI
“Every September, a quiet, churchy city in the American heartland undergoes a Technicolor transformation. Art pops up everywhere—paintings, giant insect statues, experimental happenings. Sidewalks and parks turn into open-air museums; taverns become galleries. A huge pot of money is dangled before the artists, $250,000(!) for the grand prize. And here’s the best part: You know who gets to pick the winner? You do.”
SOMArts
June 1, 2012
terra cotta, 14 x 15 x 5
“No Foul” selected by Jonathan D. Katz for the exhibition ReMix: ReFraming Appropriation
A reunion of QCC Visual Artists, SOMarts Main Gallery, June 1-26, 2102
Join QCC in a Reunion of 15 years of visual arts programs housed at SOMArts! There will, of course, be libations to take us into the next 15 years and special recognition of those who have participated in exhibitions from FACE (1998) to QIY (2011) and the curators, funders and supporting organizations that made these shows happen!
Wear your best outfits, pick up your nametags at the door and come back to SOMArts for a fabulous Visual Arts Reunion!
ReMix: ReFraming Appropriation mines 15 years of National Queer Arts Festival exhibitions towards understanding the centrality of the act of appropriation for queer art of the recent past. Using appropriation as its lens, it sifts through all the art exhibited over the last 15 years, selecting those works for redisplay that map the parameters of queer appropriation as it has evolved through to today. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz, former Board Member and one of the first curators of the National Queer Arts Festival, ReMix: ReFraming Appropriation in essence appropriates years of appropriations in order to both articulate and enact how queer politics so often turns on making familiar images and ideas ventriloquize new politics, new identities, and new utopias.
Best of Show
May 8, 2012
“Shell” selected as Best in Show
84th REGIONAL EXHIBITION
Muskegon Museum of Art
Opening Reception and Awards: Thursday, May 31, 5:30–8:00 pm
The MMA’s Regional Exhibition holds a respected position within Michigan’s art tradition, representing the best in our artistic community. This year, in honor of the MMA’s centennial year and its long-standing commitment to Michigan artists, the invitation to enter artwork is extended beyond West Michigan to artists throughout the state for the very first time. Registration is open to all artists 18 years and older who reside in Michigan. This year’s Regional Exhibition will run from May 31 through August 8.
This year’s juror is Andrew Winship, a professor of fine art at the Herron School of Art and Design since 2005. Prior to teaching at Herron, Winship taught for the School of Fine Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and DePaul University, Chicago, IL. He is a continuing faculty member at Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, MI. His most recent shows have taken place in Chicago at the Beacon Street Gallery and Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center, as well as the Muskegan Museum of Art. Winship is an active professional and teacher in printmaking, painting, and drawing.
Solo Show
February 10, 2012
Michael Pfleghaar: Reinforcing Objecthood
Grand Rapids Art Museum
101 Monroe Center
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 831-1000
February 10 – April 22, 2012
Michael Pfleghaar’s current work translates three-dimensional utilitarian form onto a flat plane, resulting in a new physical object. By integrating elements of design objects, his paintings lie somewhere between representation and abstraction.
“I am attracted to modern furniture, lighting and accessories because of their inherent abstract structure. Through abstraction I am able to capture the spirit of modern design … By attaching actual modern readymade objects to paintings, I create a dialog between utilitarian and non-utilitarian articles. To reinforce objecthood, physicality is stressed in the work through the use of materials and how they relate to the forms inspiring the paintings.”
The artist’s work illustrates the paradox that a painting can represent something other than itself, yet it is also an object in its own right.
Michael Pfleghaar has made Grand Rapids his home since 1983 and is represented in many local private, corporate and public collections. Pfleghaar received a BFA in painting from Grand Valley State College in 1989 and an MFA in visual arts from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University in 2011.
Group Show
January 13, 2012
Eastern Oregon University
Nightingale Gallery
Laso Hall
La Grand, OR 97850
Monday through Friday, 11AM to 4PM
January 13-February-3, 2012
“Meaning to Glue” is curator Cory Peeke’s examination of 11 contemporary artists who use materials, images and forms which speak to collection, recollection and reinterpretation.
“Meaning to Glue” presents a selection of works by respected Oregon collagists Ian Clark and Tsilli Pines, internationally recognized artists Andy DuCett, Fred Free, James Gallagher, John Hundt, David King, Hope Kroll and Michael Pfleghaar, as well as relative newcomers Robert McKeown and Joshua Stringer.
Collage is about recycling and reinterpretation. The exhibiting artists share an affinity for vintage material, images and elements and they utilize those components formally and conceptually not only for their beauty, but to comment on and explore contemporary themes. A common theme explored by the artists is the place of the handmade image in the digital era and the duality of the transient, disposable nature of culture versus the need to make meaning and solidify a cultural continuity.
“All of the works selected for this exhibit take the traditional, even old-fashioned, and reconfigure it to create something relevant to us today,” Peeke said. “Viewers will be treated to an engaging collection of works that, while made up of vintage materials, speak to a variety of contemporary concerns.”
The gallery has produced a full-colour catalog to accompany the exhibit, a first for the Nightingale Gallery. The catalog includes an essay by the curator and a selection of images, statements and brief biographies for each artist.
Studio Visit Magazine
January 8, 2011
My work was selected for Studio Visit Magazine Volume 8
Studio Visit is a series of juried artist books. We are pleased to offer artists a new and effective venue through which to introduce their work to a serious national audience of art world professionals. Studio Visitpresents all two- and three- dimensional media.
Each high quality volume of Studio Visit features approximately 150 artists, who have been selected by professional curators. Selected artists will be given one full color that includes an image, contact information and a brief artist statement.