CPC Small Print Show: Michael Goro

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

I first interviewed Michael Goro for ArtStyle Blog in October, 2007. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Michael studied architecture at Leningrad Academy of Art and Design, eventually moved to the US and received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently teaches at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he is responsible for drawing and design classes as well as for developing the printmaking program. His intricate prints include the full spectrum of intaglio printmaking techniques, ranging from Renaissance engraving to digital photogravure.

Michael Goro. Wheel of Fortune.
Etching / engraving, 8" x 8".

"My art is a continuous creative search for raw authenticity in urban environments and human forms that are constantly changing. Individuals change as they experience life and cities develop and/or decay through time. People and places have history and experience. Cities are weathered by time and through use, taking on a personality of their own from the people and the elements that have interacted with them. It is a combination of all of these factors that creates authenticity.

"Looking for subject matter I find simple things that we see every day, things that become symbolic once they are taken out of context. I experiment with the juxtaposition of places, faces, and architectural designs that reflect my diverse personal experiences. My story is a vivid illustration of the end of the last century, a time of deconstruction, discontinuity, and dislocation.

"I find that black-and-white prints convey contradictory images better than any other medium by reducing them to the most basic color contrast."

Michael Goro. Listen to Your Master's Voice.
Etching / engraving, 7" x 9".

Michael's recent exhibitions include: The 7th Kochi International Triennial Exhibition of Prints (Fourth Prize), Ino-cho Paper Museum, Ino-cho Kochi-ken, Japan, 2008; Kulisiewicz International Graphic Arts Triennial IMPRINT, Place of Culture and Science, Warsaw, Poland, 2008; Art of Democracy, Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA), Chicago, 2008; 9th International Biennial The Masters of Drawing and Graphic Art (by invitation only), Municipal Museum of Art in Gyor, Hungary, 2007; PRINT-Internationale Grafiktriennale Krakau Oldenburg Wien, Knstlerhaus, Vienna, 2007; Brush and Needle, Prints and Paintings by Mat Barber Kennedy and Michael Goro, MBK Gallery, Chicago, 2007; Anchors of Identity, Recent work by Michael Goro, Vespine Gallery, Chicago, 2006; The 14th Seoul Space International Print Biennial (Excellent Prize), Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea, 2006; 3rd LUC Print Biennial Competition, Loyola University, Chicago, 2006.

Michael Goro. Call of the Wild.
Etching / engraving, 5" x 5".

For more information on Michael and his art, go to http://www.mgoro.com/.