Interview with Katie Mccraken on Artists Speak podcast.

I recently had the pleasure to sit down with Katie Mccracken and talk with her about my work for her podcast, Artists Speak. You can hear the interview above and view some work from the Artists Speak website. Thanks again Katie!

May 2015

Dear Friends,

I am happy to announce my artist's residency at Montalvo Art Center. Last year I had the good fortune to realize A Course of Action there. This summer I am focusing on new paintings and videos during my time at Montalvo. Many thanks to the dedicated staff, especially Kelly and Donna, for this opportunity.  

Two new paintings and an older video of mine, Five Constant Factors, will be part of an exhibition, Security Question, at the David Brower Center, in Berkeley, CA. I am proud to be included in the fantastic roster of artists selected by Catharine Clark, Justin Hoover, Aimee Le Duc, and Jackie Hasa. This exhibition, "embraces an expansive definition (...of security...), exploring contemporary military and police issues while widening the debate to include environmental, social, and economic concerns. At times dark, humorous, and hopeful, the featured artworks investigate our national and local defense systems and explore whether security might also be found in our connections to each other and the natural world." Please join me for the opening reception.

Security Question
May 28 - September 10, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 28, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Teaching the Video Production Workshop at Creative Growth keeps me busy as the artists continue to make impressive and inspiring digital and video work. The artists and I have made amazing strides over the past few months. Thanks to the New Parkway for hosting our full house new films screening, including Starquarius - a 26 minute sci-fi epic. See the trailer here. We also participated in the inaugural StARTup Art Fair and were able to bring awareness and delight to the crowds - many of whom were unfamiliar with CG and what we do there. Many thanks to Steve Zavattero and Ray Beldner for hosting us. For a small picture of CG, watch this new video I made with CG artists for our annual fundraiser Beyond Trend, which was a smashing success. See the video here. 

It is a full year in and outside of the studio. I look forward to sharing new work with you soon. Thank you for your continued support.

Wishing you all a fantastic summer,
Michael

Dear Friends,
 
I hope this email finds you well. I have some recent and upcoming events to share with you. A lot has been happening in the studio recently. A good deal of experimentation and reconsiderations of material have lead to some new work that I'm happy to have in a couple upcoming group exhibitions:

The One and Only
Fall 2014 UC Berkeley Department of Art Practice Faculty Exhibition
Featuring: Kwame Braun, Allan deSouza, Michael Hall, Randy Hussong, John McNamara, Indira Morre, Craig Nagasawa, Greg Niemeyer, Elise Putnam, Brody Reiman, Erik Scollon, Katherine Sherwood, Jeffrey Skoller, Stephanie Syjuco, and Anne Walsh
October 22nd through November 7th, 2014
Opening Reception: 4 – 7 pm, Wednesday, October 22nd
Artist Talk: 12 – 1pm, Wednesday, October 29th
Worth Ryder Gallery, 116 Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12 – 5pm
Free and Open to the Public

and

Piedmont Center for the Arts 
Juried Art Show 2014
juried by Carin Adams, Oakland Museum of California, Associate Curator of Art & Material Culture and Caitlin Haskell, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture.
November 1-November 30
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1, 5:00 – 8:00 pm

In other news, I was honored to be awarded the Alameda County Arts Leadership Award for my work at Creative Growth Art Center. I have been teaching and involved with this amazing organization for 11 years and started the Center's Video Production Workshop.

Also, starting today, October 15, Creative Growth is hosting a five day Film Festival showcasing award winning films by and about people with disabilities. Having been on the film selection committee I can tell you these films are inspiring and great cinema! For more information or to get tickets got toBayAreaReelAbilities.org

All the best,
Michael

June-2014

Dear Friends,

Summer has begun and I have a number of exciting events happening this month that I want to share with you. 

First, I am ecstatic to present a selection of new work in Soft Muscle, a group exhibition exploring the vulnerabilities of the body at Root Division in San Francisco. It's a amazing group of artists that I'm honored to show alongside: Craig Calderwood, Torreya Cummings, Terry Furry, Adrienne Heloise, Ellen Lake, Monica Lundy, Kara Maria, Stephanie Metz, Victoria May, Masako Miki, Julie Sutherland and Melissa Wyman. It is open now and the opening reception will be June 14, 7 - 10 pm. For more info go to:http://www.rootdivision.org/061414.html

Next, I am participating in Pro Arts East Bay Open Studios this weekend. Along with my studio mate Susanna Corcoran, we will be opening up our studio as well as a host of artists in the building including Bobbie Altman, Kim Bennett, Tyrell Collins, Sandra Kelch, Luna Ruth Paesch, Favianna Rodriguez,Kate Short and Donald Swearingin.
Studios will be open from 11 - 6 pm on June 7 & 8. Come on over! New and old work on view. The address is 2200 Adeline Street, Oakland at the corner of West Grand Ave and Adeline. My studio is on the third floor, #330H.

Lastly, I am very excited to be recreating my obstacle course of participatory paintings, A Course of Action as part of Montalvo Art Centers’s 2014 Art on the Grounds, Fun & Games: Six Artists Consider Play and Welbeing. There will be some new obstacles as well as the classics! It will be a day featuring six artists projects, live music, a DJ, and food trucks. For more information go to: http://montalvoarts.org/events/rock_the_garden_2014/

I hope the summer treats you well!
All the best,

Michael

Dear friends,

Spring is here. Change and growth is on its way. I feel eager for what is to come this year and am excited to share with you a few upcoming events that I am participating in.

My work, “Through Failure Comes Possibility”, will be included in Vacancy/No Vacancy at Waterloo Arts in Cleveland, Ohio this April. Curated by Jon Seydl and Lisa Kurzner. If you are in Cleveland please come by. For more on my project clickHERE

Vacancy/No Vacancy
April 4 -May 17
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I am also honored to be included in the exhibition Soft Muscle curated by Adrienne Heloise. This will sadly be the final exhibition at Root Division in their location in San Francisco’s Mission District. So I feel especially fervent at getting the word out about this show. I feel particularly thrilled to be included in Soft Muscle along with the amazing artists: Craig Calderwood, Torreya Cummings, Terry Furry, Adrienne Heloise, Ellen Lake, Monica Lundy, Kara Maria, Victoria May, Stephanie Metz, Masako Miki, Julie Sutherland and Melissa Wyman.
 
Soft Muscle

June 4 - 20, 2014
Artist Reception:
Saturday, 6/14
7 - 10PM 

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I have some new prints available through the good people at Mammoth & Co from my Reclamation series. If you have been to Boot & Shoe in Oakland you may have seen my painting, BES, FB-SG, BC B1, there. It is available as a print along with one other from the series. There are also a few more prints available of my watercolor, Wrestling the Unfailable. Go to Mammoth & Co to see!

mammoth.co/collections/michael-hall
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This year I will be be participating in Open Studios along with my studiomate, Susanna Corcoran, as well as a host of artists in our building. More details to come.
 
EAST BAY OPEN STUDIOS 2014
Saturday and Sunday, June 7 - 8
11am - 6pm
2200 Adeline Street
Oakland, CA
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With the seasonal change also comes the season of the art auctions. I strongly believe in supporting causes one believes in. Showing support of and participating with organizations that build community, serve diverse populations and engage the public in new experiences are important not only for the well being of those organizations but also for the greater population. Three such Arts organizations, Southern Exposure, Intersection for the Arts and Creative Growth do all these things. For that reason I am proud to be donating a piece to both SoEx and Intersection and urge everyone to come out and support their auctions and all of the programming that Creative Growth has developed for its 40th anniversary.

Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction
 SMOKE & MIRRORS 

Saturday, March 22
7:30 – 11:00 PM
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Intersection for the Arts
Changemakers Social 2014

Friday, April 25
6pm
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Creative Growth

See all the events and opportunities to support Creative Growth during their 40th anniversary!

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And finally I have to plug the forthcoming BFA and MFA exhibitions at Mills College. I am incredibly proud of my students and Grads and know you will find their work incredibly engaging.

Close at Hand
Senior Thesis Exhibition
April 1-25
&
Mixed Messages
MFA Exhibition
MAY 4–25

I hope Spring is bringing positive change for you all. Thank you again for your continued support!
 
All the best,
 
Michael

New year, new work

The new year is well underway and though I have a full teaching load this semester I have been busy in the studio working on a new body of work. In June I am very excited to be included in the group show "Soft Muscle", curated by Adrienne Heloise, at Root Division in San Francisco. Some of my new work will be presented in that exhibition. You can see images of my ongoing project, "Through Failure Comes Possibility" here. Also, I will be be participating in Open Studios this year along with my studiomate, Susanna Corcoran, as well as a host of artists in our building - details to follow.

One new piece, "Pressing In" is kicking off a new section on my site "New Available Work". Every month I will post a new work for purchase here. The original piece is offered at an affordable price for the length of the month or until it is acquired. Check back each month for a new offering.

Thank you for your continued support!

Best,

Michael

UPDATE:

Thank you to all if you who have supported me (through the sale and otherwise). Through sales I've been able to raise almost $300 in support for hurricane relief in the Philippines.

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From now until the end of December I will donate 30% of any sale generated by my studio sale to the relief effort in the Philippines. I am heartbroken by the devastation there. Having lived in Okinawa, I experienced first hand what the destructive power of a typhoon was like, but nothing like this storm. I will make donations via the Red Cross.

New website, new studio and making way for new work.

Dear Friends,
There are some exciting changes to share with you. First off, I'd like to welcome you all to my new website, michaelhallstudio.net. It's been a while in the making and I'm ecstatic to have it up and running. I think you'll find the work better presented and with some new additions to it -- including the newest feature of my site -- the STUDIO SALE webstore.

I also recently moved into a great new studio in Oakland (with new studio-mate, photographer, Susanna Corcoran). Moving is rarely an easy thing. It confronts you with all that you have accumulated. As it turns out, I have a good deal of work in storage. Much of this older work is different from what I am currently exploring. Though the work brought me where I am, I feel it's time to let it go and clear room for new work to be made. So, through December 2013 a selection of past work is offered for sale at low cost on my site in the STUDIO SALE section. The works available are sketches, experiments and older work from previous series. This selection reveals a progression of my work from 2003 to 2009.

Out in the physical world, my sculpture, Surrogate,was installed in front of the Napa Valley City Hall as part of the city's ARTwalk (June 2013-June 2015). The concrete form is modeled after the base end stations found on the Pacific Coast. Originally constructed as part of war preparations during World War II, the decommissioned bunkers are now disintegrating into the coastal landscape. This version of Surrogate integrates a planter bed within the sculpture. Filled with dirt, the hollow of the form is planted with indigenous plants. Over the course of the two years the plants will overtake the form. If you are in Napa, stop by City Hall to take a look.

As many of you know, I participate every year in Southern Exposure’s annual fundraiser, the Monster Drawing Rally. This year I was proud to be asked to produce the postcard image for the event and had a great time making two watercolors on-site in just one hour (see here and here). This year marks Southern Exposure’s 39th year of experimental arts programming and support. They are kicking off their birthday with the exhibition, The Long Conversation and a block party opening on Saturday, September 21, 4-10pm.

Stay tuned for some upcoming projects and exhibitions. Thank you for your continued support!

All the best,
Michael Hall