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, so that each is distinct from the others These are Missouri artist, Michael Bauermeister’s, latest pieces. Patina hosts a first ever Santa Fe exhibition of his work, “Vortex 2006. “

This vortex form is found throughout indigenous cultures, as a stylized human depiction, and throughout nature, too. It is the spiral, the infinite vortex and golden mean with no end and no beginning. Here it is a powerful construction, a massive, three-dimensional equivalent. Sometimes it towers, sometimes undulates and sometime it is dappled with pattern as though light plays on the surface, but the essential form remains. It is there, in much of this work.

Bauermeister offers this quote from French artist, Louise Bourgeouis:

“The spiral is an attempt at controlling the chaos. It has two directions. Where do you place yourself, at the periphery or at the vortex? Beginning at the outside is the fear of losing control; the winding in is a tightening, a retreating, a compacting to the point of disappearance. Beginning at the centre is affirmation, the move outward is a representation of giving, and giving up control; of trust, positive energy, of life itself.”

Bauermeister is careful to balance his vision with the native quality of the woods he employs. Close inspection reveals a variety of textures and pattern. Some is applied by carving into the surface, while some is intrinsic to the wood itself. Sometimes the pieces are planed to create faces and edges that run from floor to shoulder. There is variety here.

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. The work of this artist is highly physical, cutting, gluing and clamping the graded rings of wood, then carving and painting to finish the pieces.

For relief from the demands of the studio, Bauermeister retreats to the Southwest, where water, wind and time have carved monuments of their own and provided context to the ancient cultures that honor the infinite and timelss and the energy that is “life itself.” The inspiration is obvious.