Cultures have a tendency to decorate. Each in their own way. Some like it minimal, Michael Velliquette chooses abundance and over stimulation. His brightly colored works may need a minute to sink in. All the colors distact from what’s going on. Where do they come from? Michael lives in Wisconsin. The winters are quite long there. The summer however, Michael describes as ‘hyper color’. Summers are beautiful.
Michael Velliquette attempts to create a space that overwhelms the viewer with information, a disorienting effecting on the eye. Generosity, abundance, over saturation. It’s a vehicle to communicate spirituality, and to counter scarcity in the crisis. It’s part of the human impulse to make special. Or about colors used in devotional practices.
The colors are chosen intuitively. In case you hadn’t noticed, his work is all paper cuts. Michael paints the paper using water colors or acrylic paints, so he’s not limited to what’s available in the stores. He can activate the colors with richer pigments that also add depth to the surface. This way he can keep his art uplifting: ‘I want to bring feelings of good will through my work.’
You can see Michael Veliquette at the Museum of Wisconsin Art through september, and in New York this fall.
