“The focus of my work is to invoke an awareness of the complexity and beauty of the world around us, seen and unseen."
About the Show:
“The focus of my work is to invoke an awareness of the complexity and beauty of the world around us, seen and unseen. I do so by incorporating the lesser-known elements of nature and science into my paintings in addition to my creative interpretation of the unseen, mysterious components of life.
The observable scientific subject matter may include microscopic views of single-cell radiolarians, the facets of a bee's eye, or anatomy right down to the cellular level and beyond. They are the components of biology and science that are still on the edge of exploration, from the neurons in our brains to the fabric of the universe. I believe having a deep awareness of nature gives us an appreciation for life, it makes us wonder, it inspires, and allows us to think beyond the reality that's immediately in front of us.
To further that concept, I incorporate a surreal element to my work. It represents the mysteries in life: the unseen, the unknown, creativity, the subconscious, untapped possibilities, and so on. It is the balance of concrete, observable reality with the mysteries of life that I explore and expose to others in my paintings.”
~ Micah Ofstedahl
About Micah:
Born and raised in Austin, MN (aka Spamtown, the birthplace of Hormel)Micah began as an artist asking his parents for the white-out when he went outside the lines in his coloring books. Though some of that perfectionism still exists in Micah today, now he creates his own lines to follow.
Another defining moment as a young artist was when Micah dropped Calculus his senior year of high school for another art class. More time in the art rooms helped Micah win the coveted "Artist of the Year" award for the class of 2000. Micah later went on to Minnesota State U, Mankato and graduated with a BFA focusing on sculpture and ceramics.
Micah then journeyed out west to Santa Cruz, CA with the Byron Space Circus, a band that he played guitar for (which is another story). When that fizzled out Micah came full circle and got back into painting. Not really knowing where to start, Micah came across the book Grey's Anatomy. The images inside were just what he was looking for. He was particularly drawn to the less recognizable images such as those at the cellular level or cross-sections of bone. Micah was later introduced to Ernst Haeckel and his 19th century illustrations of radiolarians and other strange and beautiful life-forms. This took his inspiration beyond anatomy and opened the door to other biological forms. In his quest for inspiration, Micah is constantly being amazed by the hidden beauty and complexity of the world and this is largely what he hopes to convey to his audience.
