- Michael Staniak
Eduardo Secci is pleased to announce the opening of the solo show by Michael Staniak on September 23, 2022 (from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm) in the gallery space in Via Zenale in Milan. The exhibition takes place until November 18, 2022. The Australian artist’s work is characterized by very physical technique, combined with imaging and modeling software.
This combination of traditional and new media evokes frescoed cave walls, rock carvings, and ancient monuments, representing a homage to digital data collection, 3D image processing, and screen-based aesthetics. Among the recent and never-before-seen paintings of the BMP series, realized using casting compounds, some are for the first time in the horizontal orientation. Staniak shifted his focus to the landscape as a subject matter while continuing his intense investigation of naturally occurring material. The choice of the landscape format and the application of textures make him more interested in the act of creating signs and in the constant search to capture them in materials similar to rock. Recognizing a continuity with the paintings of 2015, we observe in the BMP series the evolution of the palette and the introduction of other media, such as iron oxide, which years later moved away from digital UV imaging. Ironically, the omission of the digital process has further enhanced a screen-like aesthetic. OBJ (monument) sculptures on display see Staniak’s return to bronze working, modelling the starting material with 3D software.
However, these new sculptural works of the series replace the cave subject with 3D scans of ancient relics, some of which have represented the reference point of cultural iconography for centuries. In addition, the artist intervenes digitally on the scans to differ from their original form and constitute a reinterpretation of the ancient monuments. In this way, he intends to highlight the malleability of intangible digital data and, at the same time, celebrate the permanence of cultural information carved from solid material. This tension is further explored by casting the final forms in bronze and painting them to reflect the aesthetics of the 3D CAD software.
Eduardo Secci is pleased to announce the opening of the solo show by Michael Staniak on September 23, 2022 (from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm) in the gallery space in Via Zenale in Milan. The exhibition takes place until November 18, 2022. The Australian artist’s work is characterized by very physical technique, combined with imaging and modeling software.
This combination of traditional and new media evokes frescoed cave walls, rock carvings, and ancient monuments, representing a homage to digital data collection, 3D image processing, and screen-based aesthetics. Among the recent and never-before-seen paintings of the BMP series, realized using casting compounds, some are for the first time in the horizontal orientation. Staniak shifted his focus to the landscape as a subject matter while continuing his intense investigation of naturally occurring material. The choice of the landscape format and the application of textures make him more interested in the act of creating signs and in the constant search to capture them in materials similar to rock. Recognizing a continuity with the paintings of 2015, we observe in the BMP series the evolution of the palette and the introduction of other media, such as iron oxide, which years later moved away from digital UV imaging. Ironically, the omission of the digital process has further enhanced a screen-like aesthetic. OBJ (monument) sculptures on display see Staniak’s return to bronze working, modelling the starting material with 3D software.
However, these new sculptural works of the series replace the cave subject with 3D scans of ancient relics, some of which have represented the reference point of cultural iconography for centuries. In addition, the artist intervenes digitally on the scans to differ from their original form and constitute a reinterpretation of the ancient monuments. In this way, he intends to highlight the malleability of intangible digital data and, at the same time, celebrate the permanence of cultural information carved from solid material. This tension is further explored by casting the final forms in bronze and painting them to reflect the aesthetics of the 3D CAD software.
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 053, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame
136.2 x 181.2 cm
54 x 71 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 077, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame
181.2 x 241.2 cm
71 x 94 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 054, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame.
136.2 x 181.2 cm
54 x 71 in
Michael Staniak, OBJ_132 (monument), 2022Bronze and acrylic
75 x 28 x 30 cm
29.5 x 11 x 12 in
Michael Staniak, OBJ_134 (monument), 2022Bronze and acrylic
55 x 30 x 21 cm
21.5 x 12 x 8.5 in
Michael Staniak, OBJ_135 (monument), 2022Bronze and acrylic
53 x 25 x 28 cm
20.5 x 10 x 11 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 223, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame
81.2 x 61.2 cm
32 x 24 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 277, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame
81.2 x 61.2 cm
32 x 24 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 275, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame
81.2 x 61.2 cm
32 x 24 in
Michael Staniak, BMP_Oxide painting 108, 2022Casting compound, iron oxide and acrylic on engineered wood panel, steel frame.
181.2 x 136.2 cm
71 x 54 in
Michael Staniak was born in Melbourne in 1982 where he currently lives and works.
He obtained a BFA and a MFA from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, as well as a BA in Digital Media Communications from the Middle Tennessee State University.
Staniak was the protagonist of personal exhibitions at the Eduardo Secci Gallery, Florence (2018); Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2017); Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Louis, St. Louis (2015); Annarunna Gallery, Naples (2015); Artereal Gallery, Sydney (2014).
Among the group exhibitions we mention the exhibitions at the galleries: Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2018); Eduardo Secci Contemporary, Mexico (2018); Homeostatis Pavilion, São Paulo, Brazil; The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn (2017); Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (2016); Blain Southern, Berlin (2015); The Moving Museum, Istanbul (2014); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2014); Horton Gallery, New York (2013); Northern Territory Center for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2012).
In 2017, the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis published a monograph of his work, titled IMG_, which was then reported in numerous publications, including Artforum, Flashart Italy, Vault, Australia and Leap Beijing.
Michael Staniak was born in Melbourne in 1982 where he currently lives and works.
He obtained a BFA and a MFA from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, as well as a BA in Digital Media Communications from the Middle Tennessee State University.
Staniak was the protagonist of personal exhibitions at the Eduardo Secci Gallery, Florence (2018); Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2017); Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Louis, St. Louis (2015); Annarunna Gallery, Naples (2015); Artereal Gallery, Sydney (2014).
Among the group exhibitions we mention the exhibitions at the galleries: Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2018); Eduardo Secci Contemporary, Mexico (2018); Homeostatis Pavilion, São Paulo, Brazil; The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn (2017); Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (2016); Blain Southern, Berlin (2015); The Moving Museum, Istanbul (2014); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2014); Horton Gallery, New York (2013); Northern Territory Center for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2012).
In 2017, the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis published a monograph of his work, titled IMG_, which was then reported in numerous publications, including Artforum, Flashart Italy, Vault, Australia and Leap Beijing.
- Daria Dmytrenko
- Erik Schmidt
