A: Is for the art of Michael Souter

My friend Frederique is an artist manager and her taste is impeccable. When she sent me an invitation to Heidi Cho's Gallery at 522 west 23rd to see some of her clients last Thursday I made time to go. There were three artists that made me want to write and to share with you. I start with Michael Souter whose work "Narcissist" was on view. Influenced by material dealing with Narcissism from the plays and movies of Neil LaBute to Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited. Souter combines words, sentiments and image with personal experience, the five part series express different sides of the disease. "Daggers" explores the violence of Narcissism from its physical and mental abuse, to the power struggles, and overwhelming aggression that lies hidden beneath the surface. Penetrating layers of color reveal the identity within. The "Dagger" series explores the connection between control and freedom, using a repeated abstract shape, and texture. This series of mixed media on hollow core doors is muted with layers of color against monochrome. The unconventional pairings of paint, elements, images, and text, these paintings are an organic process of intuition. The texture is added with ground highway glass, embedded in the painting’s surface. Emerging from the background, the presence of a dagger seems to glow with emotional intensity. The result is half-hidden forms and layers of color. Each piece is continuously worn away and deconstructed, and then “reworked” and built up until the piece strikes the right balance between process and product. Remnants from each layer bleed into one another, creating a wilderness of half-seen images that emerge from the background of foreboding tension. "Wraps" show the immersion of a victim in the Narcissist's reality and non-reality. "Wrap", raises questions concerning manipulation, seduction, ego, and control, examining the traces they leave on
relationships, especially our recollections of them. The use of fluorescent and metal evokes a sense of vanity, while grandiose, poetic messages, verging on self-absorption, simultaneously seduce and taunt. Numerous panels of color are applied, only to be stripped, revealing luminous layers that recede yet come into focus like a





developing photograph. Color fragments merge into a singular, overriding image that feels both punishing and provocative. Overlapping swaths of paint pulse with the boundaries of control and power. Half-hidden beneath ethereal layers of paint, our own voyeuristic desire that punctuate one's personal mythology. The Narcissist's weapons of choice: his reflection and words, re-arranging and deconstructing them to dissect their true nature leads to "Mirrors". "Film", a work in progress dramatizes the thought process. From wild accusations to grandiose musings. This September 25 of his works will be on display in Salt Lake City in a one man show. His paintings have been exhibited in New York, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Torino Italy, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Geneva. Those who admire his work are: Ken Landis, Tim Allen, Ann Margaret, Michael Lembeck, John Travolta, and William H Macy. Yes the celbrity crowd has taken notice and so should you. He will be at Heidi Cho's till August 10th and that is a F.A.C.T.