CONTEMPORARY ART STOCKROOM Michael Gromm

Upcoming Exhibitions

Michael Gromm’s relationship to his medium speaks of an open two-way process of making and unmaking, of the physical actions of painting and the emotional impacts of looking. These are tremendously flamboyant images, joyful and brash in their exuberance. Paired with the somewhat allegorical, sometimes nonsensical titles he bestows upon each one, they also speak of the absurd and superfluous acts, decisions and spontaneities that drive much of our human endeavour. Gromm’s large fluid paintings seek to suspend the viewer in a state of preternatural ‘nowness’ creating moments of visual and mental spaciousness, capable of encouraging creativity, reflection and calm within an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.

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.
Michael Gromm, Artist Statement

While many artists set out to articulate a predetermined vision through their practice, Melbourne artist Michael Gromm uses the act of painting to navigate an open-ended journey of discovery. For him the question is not what to paint, but rather how to harness the unexpected, how to allow his practice the freedom to respond to what has gone before. Housed within the fluid layers of his paintings, his works inhabit a space of fluxing consequence, endlessly oscillating between the before and after, between states of excision and emergence.
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Phe Luxford, 2023

ARTIST PROFILE:
Michael Gromm holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Ballarat. He has been a finalist in the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize (2016), the Scope Galleries Art Prize (2012), the Metro Gallery Art Prize (2010), the Fletcher Jones Contemporary Art Prize (2008) and was announced the winner of the David Pratt Drawing Award (2001). Gromm was selected to exhibit in FLG’s Exploration exhibition in 2015 and was subsequently awarded the FLG Emerging Artist Award. FLG exhibited his work in a successful showing at Melbourne Art Fair in 2022. His works are held in collections in Singapore, USA and across Australia. He has been exhibiting with FLG since 2016.

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Media Highlights

I only take what I need but there is always more readily available at the supermarket 2023
acrylic on linen
180cm x 240cm
$14,000 AUD

anything all of the time 2024
oil & acrylic on canvas, framed with Victorian Ash
163cm x 133cm
$7,500 AUD

Punk kids walking a dog 2023
acrylic on linen
111cm x 106cm
$4,700 AUD

I was raised by sitcoms 2023
acrylic on linen
106cm x 111cm
$4,700 AUD

Red flowers on the phone 2024
Cyanotype, gouache and pencil on paper
20cm x 20cm , framed size 30 x 30
$700 AUD

The moon is flat 2023
acrylic on linen
86cm x 81cm
$2,700 AUD

Clowns for everybody 2023
acrylic on linen
86cm x 81cm
$2,700 AUD

The nepotism is already in place 2023
acrylic on linen
86cm x 81cm
$2,700 AUD

Go there for three months and then come back 2021
Oil and acrylic on canvas
106cm x 91cm
$3,000 AUD

Moving through to the true 2022
Acrylic on canvas
122cm x 97cm
Sold
Sold

Love the layered carpet patterns 2021
Oil and acrylic on linen
122cm x 107cm
Sold
Sold

mm.c.02 2021
Acrylic on birch ply
30cm x 30cm
$500 AUD

mm.c.04 2021
Acrylic on birch ply
30cm x 30cm
$500 AUD

Soothing LED time 2020
acrylic, pencil & collage on 300gsm paper, unframed
76cm x 57cm
$1,400 AUD