ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bauermeister’s home and studio is a former general store near the banks of the Missouri. It is one of the few buildings still standing in a town forgotten since the 30’s, when after repeated floodings, the inhabitants moved on.
ABOUT THE WORK
Imagine wooden columns, taller than a man, broad at the top and tapering to the base. One is first impressed by stature and scale; they vary in height from a few feet to taller than eight. Then one discovers their surfaces, the pattern and detail and that each is utterly distinct from the others. Bauermeister is a sculptor working in wood. He carves, paints, scorches and stains it.. The character of the wood itself is less interesting to him than its material properties. It is infinite in its possible treatments.
Michael Bauermeister has developed a unique process to create his works. Concentric rings are cut from a wide board, stacked and laminated to form a tapering column. The column may then be carved and sanded. Tool marks may be left visible or are sometimes smoothed off completely. Bauermeister uses a variety of finishes and surface treatments, and frequently applies color to the work.
EDUCATION
1979, Kansas City Art Institute., BFA Sculpture
1975-1976, The Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
EXHIBITIONS
2006, “Vortex,” Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2004, “Whole Grain, Sculptural Wood,” (invitational) SOFA, Chicago, IL
2004, “Tree of Life” (invitational) Wood Turning Center of Philadelphia, PA
2003, “One Step Back, Two Steps Forward,” CWA Group Exhibition, Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2000, “Studio Wood/The New Frontier”, Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
PUBLICATIONS
500 Wood Bowls, Ray Leier and Jan Peters, Lark Books 2004
August 1995, January 1996, photos in American Craft
Summer 1996, June 1998, photo, American Woodworker
March 1986, photo, Fine Woodworking
Fine Woodworking Design, Book Three
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
University of Michigan Museum, Ann Arbor, MI
Mesa Museum of Contemporary Art, Mesa, AZ
