Who We Are

Artists: Michael Dinning

Join us Thursday, May 10 at 6pm for a free reception with artist Michael Dinning to see the work up close and learn more from the artist himself. Enjoy light refreshments and learn more about ‘Who We Are’, artist Michael Dinning, and more.

Bio

My name is Michael Dinning and I am an artist in Spokane, Washington. I am a graduate of Washington State University, where I studied sculpture, lithography and art history. Upon graduation in 1987 I pursued an artistic career in Seattle, working primarily as a painter. I was fortunate to work with a group of artists in the 90s at the West Seattle Artist Warehouse, where we staged group shows and worked in a creative and collaborative environment. About 14 years ago I moved to Spokane, changed careers, got married, and started a family, and largely shelved my artistic pursuits. A couple of years ago I shifted gears again and restarted my artistic career, returning to my sculptural roots by incorporating found objects with painted canvas, creating mixed media wall pieces and sculptures. Although these last few years have easily been the most fruitful of my artistic life, the past always informs the present, and everything that I have create now is built upon a unique foundation of work from deep in my past and the full span of my life.

Statement

A love of history and a sense of place, the joy of family, the intrigue of music and a sense of social awareness all combine and recombine as central threads in my artwork. There is a beating rhythm in life, an unseen central beat, that compels us to return, again and again, to those people and things that intrigue us and bring us joy. These people and things, ideas and affections, build and overlap, creating personal layers within us that define who we are. There is an essence and mystery of life that is defined by the interplay of these layers, and the artistic process is a way for me to give form to those unseen rhythms and intriguing themes that I find compelling. My creative process embraces this idea, as a way to give form to this complexity that lies under our common skin, through the use of artistic layering, targeted lighting and physical depth in each piece. I create primarily large scale narrative sculptures and wall pieces, employing painted canvasses combined with a wide variety of found objects. My goal when creating artwork is to present something that is immediately engaging, consistently compelling, and leaves a lasting impression beyond the initial encounter, and I feel that this mixed media approach gives me the best set of tools to achieve this end. Furthermore, each of my pieces tells a story, or has a central theme, and this use of a variety of elements and perspectives gives focus to the artistic expression of each piece. I believe that art should bring a sense of wonder and delight, and reflect the joy of creation experienced by the artist. I also feel that painting and sculpture are, along with the creative vision, something to be built, and the joy of that constructive process is as important to me as realizing a coherent, complex and compelling artistic expression. I love what I do, and I hope this love is clearly present to everybody who views my artwork.