BIO
Michael Hall was born in 1960. He studied in the School of Art & Design in Cardiff and pursued a career in graphics, working for prestigious firms in London such as Pens Studio and Landor Associates. He has been working as an independent freelance illustrator since, specializing both in traditional and new media. His work has been displayed in several publications; among others “Expose 4: Finest Digital Art in the Known Universe” (Ballistic Publications, 2004), “Exotique 2: The World’s most beautiful CG characters” (Ballistic Publications,2007) while he has also taught art courses for adults. Parallel to his commercial activity Michael Hall has been working as an independent painter, taking part in several exhibitions in the UK, while at the same time working on private commissions.
WORK
Michael Hall’s work has a personal, almost existential character, constantly aware of the divergence between the human and the natural scale. His upbringing in Wales has connected his work deeply to nature, forging a crucial relationship with the observation and admiration of the natural elements.The environment is experienced emotionally, giving prominence to primal questions of the human existence such as birth, death and time. By using abstraction the artist explores the progressive change of the shape of the natural world which ultimately advances to disintegration. Nature is being dealt with as the supreme being and creator, but is also examined on a microscopic level where each entity is analyzed to its most “insignificant” parts. His latest paintings capture the proceeding of the scenery from the first impression to its complete decay, merging past, present and future into one, whereas his earlier works focus more on conveying subtle impressions of the landscape according to one, predominant, element. The paintings function as an escape to the sublime plane of natural creation as well as reflections on entropy, both natural and artistic. Spending considerable time in Greece over the past couple of years, Michael Hall has been influenced by the mediterranean scenery, something that becomes apparent when seeing the changes in his choice of palette. The archaeological wealth of the country, offering a visible analysis of the historical and cultural layers that form the present, showcases the intersection of past and present and accounts for the appearance of such eroded elements in Michael Hall’s most recent work.