Scratch The Surface, New work by Michael Mcgovern April 8 – May 9

Art at 35th North presents
Scratch The Surface
New Work by Michael McGovern
April 8 – May 9, 2010
35th North Skateshop 1100 E. Pike St.
Seattle Wa 98122

Art at 35th North Skateshop is proud to present Scratch The Surface, New work by Michael McGovern for the month of April 2010. Michael McGovern makes work that is about constructing autobiographical images that explore the ghosts and spirits of his past. By visually recording impressions of specific times, places, and events in his life Mike is preserving memories that seem to fade with each passing year. McGovern’s work calls upon the repetitive nature of printmaking and photography to create a network of reoccurring images that one can meditate on to help search for a truth. He use’s a lexicon of images that relate to specific events in his history. Repeated images of bridges, birds, trains, war, masks, urban landscapes, and old family portraits find their way into his work lending themselves to an unfolding narrative. For this exhibition Michael has designed a graphic for a limited edition 35th North skateboard deck that will be available for purchase during the show.

About Michael McGovern :
Michael McGovern was born and raised in Portland Oregon and is a current part time faculty member at Portland Community College teaching both printmaking and drawing. McGovern studied photography at Pacific Northwest College of Art where he received his BFA in 2004. Moving to Illinois in 2006, McGovern went on to graduate school where he received his MFA in 2009 in printmaking from Northern Illinois University.

Skating since the age of nine McGovern has looked up skaters who have transcended into the world of fine art, artist such as Mark Gonzales, Ed Templeton, Andy Howell, Neil Blender, Lance Mountain, Glen E. Friedman, Robert Hardgrave, Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, Chris Miller, Paul Fujita, Dan Ness, Jesse Reno, Ed King, and Tyler Kline. Other highly influential artist on McGovern’s work consist of Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Jean Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Egon Schiele, Phil Frost, Robert Frank, Margaret Kilgallen, and William Kentridge.

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