Michael Centeno
Michael Centeno is an American artist born in San Antonio, TX. He received his BFA from the University of North Texas in 2014, where he developed a passion for fine craftsmanship and honed his technical skills. As a child, Centeno had prolonged exposure to mind warping cartoons and strange psychedelic music that helped pave his path to the visual arts. He has now participated in exhibitions all over the DFW area. Michael Centeno’s most recent body of work blurs the lines between sculpture, painting, and doodles. The artist embraces the viewer’s imagination and ability to explore the weirder parts of their own mind. Centeno now lives and works in the Denver, CO area.
Artist Statement
My work teeters on the fringe of sculpture and painting. Utilizing sculptural forms as a surface to apply autonomous mark making allows for me to fully engage in a conversation between the crafted sculpture and myself. This construct grants me the ability to stand on the threshold of the conscious and unconscious thus accentuating the purposefulness of each action. The work then begins to take on idiosyncrasies that bring the piece to life. My creations lure the viewer in for an intimate experience using subtle details, while engaging the space the work occupies with strange and irregular structures. The works formal qualities embrace a zany and bizarre body, while elegantly maintaining sophisticated and delicate marks that emphasize the carefully crafted finished piece.
I am interested in constructing works that spark the imagination of the viewer, inviting them to form a personal narrative using my work as a guideline. The imagination is accentuated by mixing marks that lightly reference a person, place or thing with purely abstract forms and colors. This causes the brain to attempt to link things together while still not having a firm grasp on what that thought might be. Having large spaces of untouched space on the surface creates a void that some will find calming while others will find unsettling. The balance between heavy materials such as wood with the light frailness of paper, line work, and attention to detail establishes a beautiful dialog with the ephemeral and the timeless. My work also encourages the viewer to explore ideas of existentialism and self-discovery.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Bachelors of Fine Art- Studio Art, College of Visual Arts and Design at The University of North Texas, Denton, TX
Solo Exhibitions
2014 Vestigial Tale, Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
Group Exhibitions
2015 Student Expo, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX - Juror: Jordan and Susan Roth
Wormwood, Voertmans Gallery, Denton, TX
2014 Swap Meat, The North Gallery, Denton, TX
Drawing and Painting Senior Invitational, Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX
Hot and Sweaty, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX
2013 Metabolic Science in Art, UNTSQ, Denton, TX - Juror: Andrew DeCaen
UNT Murals, Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX
Organizations
Painting and Drawing association, Denton, TX
Awards
Honorable mention in the College of Visual Arts and Design junior review
Curriculum
Michael Centeno is an American artist born in San Antonio, TX. He received his BFA from the University of North Texas in 2014, where he developed a passion for fine craftsmanship and honed his technical skills. As a child, Centeno had prolonged exposure to mind warping cartoons and strange psychedelic music that helped pave his path to the visual arts. He has now participated in exhibitions all over the DFW area. Michael Centeno’s most recent body of work blurs the lines between sculpture, painting, and doodles. The artist embraces the viewer’s imagination and ability to explore the weirder parts of their own mind. Centeno now lives and works in the Denver, CO area.
Artist Statement
My work teeters on the fringe of sculpture and painting. Utilizing sculptural forms as a surface to apply autonomous mark making allows for me to fully engage in a conversation between the crafted sculpture and myself. This construct grants me the ability to stand on the threshold of the conscious and unconscious thus accentuating the purposefulness of each action. The work then begins to take on idiosyncrasies that bring the piece to life. My creations lure the viewer in for an intimate experience using subtle details, while engaging the space the work occupies with strange and irregular structures. The works formal qualities embrace a zany and bizarre body, while elegantly maintaining sophisticated and delicate marks that emphasize the carefully crafted finished piece.
I am interested in constructing works that spark the imagination of the viewer, inviting them to form a personal narrative using my work as a guideline. The imagination is accentuated by mixing marks that lightly reference a person, place or thing with purely abstract forms and colors. This causes the brain to attempt to link things together while still not having a firm grasp on what that thought might be. Having large spaces of untouched space on the surface creates a void that some will find calming while others will find unsettling. The balance between heavy materials such as wood with the light frailness of paper, line work, and attention to detail establishes a beautiful dialog with the ephemeral and the timeless. My work also encourages the viewer to explore ideas of existentialism and self-discovery.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Bachelors of Fine Art- Studio Art, College of Visual Arts and Design at The University of North Texas, Denton, TX
Solo Exhibitions
2014 Vestigial Tale, Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
Group Exhibitions
2015 Student Expo, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX - Juror: Jordan and Susan Roth
Wormwood, Voertmans Gallery, Denton, TX
2014 Swap Meat, The North Gallery, Denton, TX
Drawing and Painting Senior Invitational, Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX
Hot and Sweaty, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX
2013 Metabolic Science in Art, UNTSQ, Denton, TX - Juror: Andrew DeCaen
UNT Murals, Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX
Organizations
Painting and Drawing association, Denton, TX
Awards
Honorable mention in the College of Visual Arts and Design junior review
Curriculum
