Interview with Michael Pfleghaar, Still Lifes Between Realism and Abstraction

“My creative model lies somewhere between abstraction and realism with colourist sensibility.”

By Rise Artwork | 21 Sept 2022

Michael Pfleghaar has just lately joined Rise Artwork, bringing his Hockneyesque Continue to Lifes works to the system. Michael is an illustrator, painter and ceramicist. Discovering things of self-reflection and materiality, the artist applies flat room, straightforward, clean up strains, and well balanced nevertheless bold colours to his works, creates archaeological dialogues concerning scenes, options, and objects.

Michael making use of underglaze to some new greenware ceramic sculptures (@pfleghaar)

How would you describe your artistic model?

My inventive fashion lies someplace concerning abstraction and realism with colourist sensibility. My target is to blend the two opposing artistic designs into a unique visible language characterised by flattened house and exaggerated color. Modern day layout is also an impact in my work as it would seem to abide by a equivalent visible aesthetic and content for subject issue.

Good Liquid Glass, 2019, by Michael Pfleghaar

What messages or themes do you want to converse with your operate?

The main concept in my work is relationships. Objects and vegetation depicted in my compositions grow to be the surrogates for the figure and how they relate to each individual other visually and symbolically.

Wire Plant Stand, 2019, by Michael Pfleghaar

How has your follow developed around the several years? Have you generally worked in an abstract fashion?

Around the decades my artwork exercise has varied from dim figurative narratives in my undergraduate research to private interior spaces and however life. In graduate college my function progressed to solely non-aim while dealing with the exact same themes of relationships. I have because appear again to realism drawing from everyday living as an autobiographical tool when combining aspects of abstraction.

Michael performing on a house job at property (@pfleghaar)

What is an common working day like in your studio? 

I see myself as an artwork employee so my studio observe is priority. On a usual working day I arrive around 9am and operate on many paintings at the identical time. Ordinarily a single substantial scale piece on canvas and a handful of drawings. I delight in making in collection as well, discovering themes by a physique of get the job done. Afternoons are put in doing the enterprise aspect of artwork, documenting get the job done, updating internet websites, applying for displays, and so on.

Monstera Shadows 1, 2021, by Michael Pfleghaar

What/Who are your essential influences?

My influences range from outdated school painters these types of as Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Contemporaries like David Hockney, Jonas Wood, Paul Wackers, Nathalie du Pasquier, Carrie Moyer, Amy Sillman and modernist designers these as Ettore Sottsass, Charles and Ray Eames, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Agave at Night, 2021, by Michael Pfleghaar

Who are some Rise Art artists with function you might be experiencing at the instant?

Lisa Kellner went to the similar Graduate College in Boston as I, so I delight in and located her work on Rise Artwork.

Dark Botanical 4, 2022, by Michael Pfleghaar

Are you presently doing the job on any thrilling new projects?

This calendar year has been a chaotic 1 in the studio with a lot of commission paintings and acquiring back again into clay developing a body of botanical impressed ceramic objects.