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BIO
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| Peter
W. Michel was born in
Schenectady, New York. He received his A.B. degree in Fine
Arts from
Oberlin College in Ohio and a degree in architecture from M.I.T. in
Cambridge,
MA. He pursued further studies in sculpture at the Museum of
Fine Arts
School and Rice University in Houston, Texas. Michel has
worked as
an architect in Boston, Houston and New York. In 1986 he
moved to
Clinton in upstate New York and began to do computer drawings for
architects
in New York City, including the office of Pei Cobb Freed. In
1989
he began to use the computer as a tool to produce his
sculpture. Mr.
Michel's most recent work has been cut from plywood or metal using
computer
controlled cutting technology (either water jet or laser) and then it
is
typically painted with the rainbow colors. |
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| Mr.
Michel's work has been shown frequently
in
galleries and museums in central New York as well as in many shows
throughout
the country. In 1999 and 2000 his monumental sculptures were
included
in Chicago's Pier Walk shows - one of the largest outdoor sculpture
shows
in the world. Other exhibition highlights include having work in the
Chesterwood Museum, in Stockbridge, MA, The Downtown Stamford, CT Art
in Public Places exhibition and the Federal Reserve Board in
Washington, DC. His work has been commissioned by The Houston
Festival,
The Houston Folk Arts Council, The Houston Academy of Gymnastics, Texas Children's Hospital West Campus in Houston, the
Thea Bowman House in Utica, NY, The City of Syracuse, NY, Baystate Children's Hospital Specialty Center in Springfield, MA and a
number
of private individuals. His work is in private collections
across
the United States as well as in Germany, Japan, Korea and South Africa.
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ARTIST'S STATEMENT
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I
DREAM'D in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the
attacks of the whole of
the rest of the earth;
I
dream'd that was the new City of Friends;
Nothing
was greater there than the quality of robust
love—it led the
rest;
It was
seen every hour in the actions of the men of
that city,
And in
all their looks and words. |
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- Walt Whitman
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Influenced by the works of the poets Walt Whitman and e. e.
cummings, my sculpture is a visual expression of the dream of a joyful, vibrant
world that works for everyone - a world where each individual is fully
self-expressed and belongs to a community united in fulfilling that dream.
My design intention is to connect to the part of the viewer that
is that dreamer. Through color, humor,
whimsy, the play of ideas, the effects of light and space, the abstract
figures, the viewer is invited to access their own spirit of playfulness and
connectedness.
As a result of years of architectural training and practice, my
work reflects a constructivist approach in its design and fabrication. It is designed using computer software and
fabricated using computer controlled laser and water jet cutting technology. The work is painted with the rainbow colors,
symbolizing both diversity and inclusion – the acceptance of the full spectrum
of our differences.
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