Michael Price Sculpture

ARTIST REPRESENTATIVE: PAUL FISHER GALLERY, WEST PALM BEACH, FL. www.paulfisher.com

Michael Price has worked for the past twenty-five years, establishing himself as a respected photographic journalist, whose work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. About ten years ago, he acquired welding equipment and set up a sculpture studio in North Palm Beach. During the past decade his welded steel works have been exhibited in a variety of galleries and his sculpture has been acquired by a number of private collectors. His latest sculpture series presents about two dozen welded steel cross shapes that are used as a vertical platform “canvas” for attaching narrative contemporary objects. His fascination with the cross shape, long employed prior to its association with religion or identified with Switzerland or the American Red Cross, has also been incorporated in contemporary art (Rauschenberg) and American culture, from Madonna to fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano. Michael puts an aesthetic spin on the iconic recognition of the cross shape by painting and sanding down the welded surfaces, creating a worn patina that sets the stage for the application of found objects, foraged from flea markets and secondhand stores. Recognizable personalities attached to the intersections of the cross shapes range from Elvis and Gumby to Dale Earnhardt and objects such as antique coins and .45 caliber bullets. The free-standing sculptures form an engaging chorus line of similar cut-out decorated and dressed up forms that seem to “dance” from east to west and from north to the South Pole, depending on where the viewer is stationed.
(Reprinted with permission from Bruce Helander, catalog introduction)