Michael Sweet, Pointillist
Cassandria's Peacock (2020) 10x20. In private collection.
Pilgrim (2018) 18x14. In private collection.
|
Mr. Sweet is an outsider artist, not schooled in the traditional sense. The fact that he radically conjures images through pointillism is what makes things genuinely interesting. His goal is to grab the viewer’s attention for more than a few seconds and engage them in contemplation with a touch of the miraculous.
At present, he layers dots upon dots, blending colors before the paint is applied to the canvas, to create textured paintings. He works in acrylics because he needs the paint to dry quickly. Each point of paint propels the viewer into the seemingly infinite progression the artist’s practice engenders, while pulling them back to search for the original referent that underlies Mr. Sweet’s oeuvre. The process is the goal. Mr. Sweet often says that if it took patience to paint this way, he would take up a hobby. He paints according to intuition, not by the clock, acknowledging the reality of spatial constructs. The hours it takes to complete one of his works transmutes into a moment of reflection. Perhaps it could be considered a form of meditation. In this sense, the act of creation is his objective. His final form is enduring, rare and unique. |
Wanderon (2012) 12x16. In private collection.
