contemporary

Michael Azgour

artist statement

This Moment in Time

Painting for me is a dance. When I am immersed in a composition, I feel as though decisions are being channeled through me from another source. Intuition and improvisation override the carefully planned shapes and lines which begin each picture. In the end, it is a balance of colors, values and forms, which become more in their relationship to one another than they ever could alone.

My recent work is primarily concerned with space as it relates to the subject and the viewer. In representational painting, the viewer begins to place him/herself into the picture space. By juxtaposing abstract elements with three dimensional representations of space, I aim to offer the viewer a new way of getting into the work.

I am attracted to creating new formations of space that contrast sharply with traditional ones. Abstract elements, such as flat, graphic shapes and arbitrary motifs distort representational depictions of perspective, anatomy, and light. Ideally, the combination provides a new and vivid sense of life.

My artistic sensibilities are informed greatly by my background in psychology and graphic design, as well as a love of the female form and a long-term interest in geometry. Formally, I am interested in the developments of the past century, which often savor the dichotomy of compositional harmony and discordance. I enjoy creating contradictory depth relationships which at once create depth and flatten space. My figures’ relationship to the ground is often interchanging, as elements from the latter shift in front of the former. I am inspired greatly by the work of several artists of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, including Richard Diebenkorn and Nathan Oliviera. Early twentieth century French and Catalan artists influence my sensibilities as well, including works by Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro.

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About the Artist
Michael Azgour is a fine artist who specializes in abstract-figurative painting and non-objective collage. He was born and raised in California and currently lives and works in San Francisco. He received his M.F.A. degree in Studio Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Azgour paints prolifically and exhibits his work often, having shown his paintings throughout the United States and abroad.

Michael teaches fine arts classes for several Bay Area institutions. He currently teaches Abstract Painting and Introduction to Drawing at Palo Alto Art Center, Abstract Figurative Painting at Pacific Art League, and Abstract Painting in Oils at College of Marin, Community Education. Michael also teaches monthly workshops and conducts private lessons at his studio in San Mateo.

Azgour is represented by William Merrill Gallery in Laguna Beach and Caldwell Snyder Gallery in San Francisco.