Michael McClard
Michael McClard arrived in New York in 1973 with a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, where he also won a Peabody Award in Sculpture. He soon made his mark on the art scene as a member of a highly original group of young artists who helped to revive an interest in painting and visual performance. He was a founding member of the noted artists\u2019 support\xa0 group Colab and its first chairman.\n\nSidestepping the confines \xa0of abstract conceptual art, \xa0McClard\u2019s work seethes with figurative content; yet it has nevertheless retained a conceptual element and mines a strong vein of humor. During the 70s he staged provocative \xa0performances such as \xab Foes v. Foes \xbb at the Kitchen and\xa0 surreal, carnivalesque installations at venues such as the Clocktower (\xab There\u2019s Meat on these Bones \xbb) ; PS 1, Institute for Art and Urban Resources, \xa0De Appel, Amersterdam and N.A.M.E Gallery, Chicago. For these presentations, he constructed all sets and props and performed, often as sole actor. His one-act play, \xab Mumbo Jumbo, \xbb was published in Avalanche 12, Winter 1975.\n\nIn October 1981, his first large-scale one-man show of paintings and frescoes took place at Mary Boone, occupying both galleries on either side of West Broadway. Drawing on sources from\xa0 mythology, history and\xa0 everyday life, he created a pantheon of imaginary characters, notable for their tactile raw energy, range of facial expressiveness and astute power of observation. Also featured were\xa0 inventive depictions of historical scenes,\xa0 acclaimed by critics such as Grace Glueck of the New York Times for their verve and by Hal Foster of Art in America for their metaphysical insights. Many of these works were acquired by New York and Los Angeles public and private collectors. During this period\xa0 McClard was also awarded two fellowships by the National Endowment for the Arts, in Visual Arts and Mixed Media.\n\nIn the 90s McClard took a temporary hiatus from painting to explore new media. He embraced the digital revolution and applied his draughtsmanship skills to the creation of original software with his brother Peter McClard through their dotcom enterprise, Hologramophone Research.\xa0 The computer installation \xabCharacters\xbb furthered his interest in human physiognomy by generating an unlimited sequence of drawings of faces and was exhibited in \xab\xa0A visage d\xe9couvert,\xa0\xbb Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Jouy-en Josas, France.\n\nThe book mentioned in the interview: Leavings: Memoir of a 1920s Hollywood Love Child.\n\n\u201cI Might Have to Bite You\u201d 1983, pastel on Strathmore, 24\u201d x 18\u201d\n\n\u201cHello Darling\u201d 1983, pastel on Strathmore, 24\u201d x 18\u201d\n\n\u201cMiss Bozzart\u201d 1983, pastel on Strathmore, 24\u201d x 18\u201d