Michael Gromm

I have an innate fascination with what is not known, and enjoy those moments when my eyes perceive things incorrectly. Those moments, usually out of the corner of my eye, when a few shapes or movements blend together to trigger a response from my consciousness. My works delve into the unknown and form unplanned, unending puzzles; a game of charades for both me and the viewer.  However, among the puzzles there exists an overarching awareness that sets the direction of my works, and strikes a fundamental balance between letting the paint do as it wants, and making it do as it is told.
Artist Statement - Michael Gromm

'Those familiar with Michael’s work might find themselves disoriented. The hard-edge abstraction remains, but it’s spliced with something else. He is breaking out. The usual clear backgrounds and defined compositions have given way to something altogether murkier and less contained. We’re no longer looking at a discrete island, but a close-up of something part synthetic, breaking out of the frame, part organic and entirely unknowable. Are we looking at an organism absorbing hostile objects? Teleport accidents? Are we wading through the poisoned waters and glimmering plastics of the Pacific Ocean’s trash vortex?'
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Will Cox 2025