Michael Staniak: Internet Blueprints
Brussels Expo (Heysel)
Booth 3A-31
April 24 – 27, 2014
Thursday (by invitation only)
Preview 11 – 5
Vernissage 5 – 10
Friday – Sunday
12 – 8
Steve Turner Contemporary is pleased to announce its participation at Art Brussels where we will present Internet Blueprints, a solo booth by Melbourne-based artist Michael Staniak. The works correlate to those in Image DNA, Staniak’s solo exhibition at Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (April 2014). In that exhibition, the artist created paintings that stem from his study of images and how they are experienced online vs. real life. He created textured handmade paintings that look like digital prints and conversely, he created 3D digitally printed works that appear to be handmade. He also created black, grey and white monochrome paintings that can be read either way. With Internet Blueprints, Staniak goes one step further by focusing on the internet’s most prevalent color—blue—and by framing the works in highly reflective stainless steel so that they appear to float on the wall much as images do on a computer screen.
Many of the most prominent sites on the internet (Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Skype and Vimeo) are distinctly branded in shades of blue. Representing air and sky, blue is used by communication and technology companies to suggests reliability, familiarity and trust. Blue is also revered by many cultures and is widely considered to be the most popular color. Even people with color-blindness can still can perceive blue. As such, it is not surprising that blue predominates on the internet.
Michael Staniak (born 1982, Melbourne) earned a BFA and an MFA from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne as well as a BA from Middle Tennessee State University. He has had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Blockprojects, Melbourne and Artereal Gallery, Sydney. His work has been included in group shows at Horton Gallery and Charles Bank, New York and will be featured in a two person exhibition with Rafaël Rozendaal at Art Rio in September 2014.
Michael Staniak (born 1982, Melbourne) earned a BFA and an MFA from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne as well as a BA from Middle Tennessee State University. He has had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Blockprojects, Melbourne and Artereal Gallery, Sydney. His work has been included in group shows at Horton Gallery and Charles Bank, New York and will be featured in a two person exhibition with Rafaël Rozendaal at Art Rio in September 2014.
Born 1982, Melbourne
Lives and works in Melbourne
Education
2011
MFA, Victorian College of the Arts University of Melbourne
2009
BFA, Victorian College of the Arts University of Melbourne
2003
BA, Mass Communication (Digital Media), Middle Tennessee State University
Selected Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2014
Artereal Gallery, Sydney (upcoming)
Rafaël Rozendaal & Michael Staniak, Art Rio (with Steve Turner Contemporary) (upcoming)
Internet Blueprints, Art Brussels (with Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles)
Image DNA, Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles
2013
STANDARD OUTPUT, Blockprojects, Melbourne
INSTAPAINT, Paradise Hills, Melbourne
2012
Square of Heroes, Artereal Gallery, Sydney
2011
History Suspended, Nellie Castan Gallery, Melbourne
Liquid Crystal Baroque, Metro Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014
Zona Maco (with Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles), Mexico City
2013
Untitled (with Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles), Miami
Merge Visible, Horton Gallery, New York
Sydney Contemporary 13 Art Fair, with Artereal Gallery, Sydney
#Pseudoreal, Charles Bank Gallery, New York
Charles Bank Gallery Summer Hang, New York
Paint 13, Artereal Gallery, Sydney
Everything At Once, Paradise Hills, Melbourne
2012
Polarspace.org, Online Exhibition, MELBOURNE, NEW YORK, GLOBAL
Primal Mutation, Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin
Not Fair Art Fair, Melbourne
VCA MFA Graduation Exhibition, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne
Awards and Grants
2013
Australia Council Artstart Grant
2010
Australian Post-Graduate Award, Australia
2009
Stirling Group Award, Melbourne
2008
Acacia Award, Melbourne
