In Michael Nauert’s paintings, we slip in and out of the familiar through abstract mark making, as he draws parallels between nature and humans. His forms coalesce into landscape and figure, conjuring up intimate feelings of both reminiscence and discovery. It is in this space that we can explore ideas and sensations that we cannot put a name to, but that have been given a physical body to contemplate. 

At the beginning of his art studies, Nauert painted with small brush strokes, limiting himself by subconscious beliefs. As he gained experience and confidence in his art practice, a release of hesitation and a trust in noetic sensibilities that became unlocked in the divine beauty of these unfamiliar landscapes. Each brushstroke is part of a conversation between the artist and the untapped ideas that lie just beyond our everyday cognition; from canvas and self-carved wood his works take form organically, rather than being the result of careful planning. The movement and color are conjured moment to moment. It is a constant back and forth between the artist’s physical space and physical expression. The final result is a translation of the sense that he begins with; much like the spider weaving her web, he is guided both by an intuition and a dialogue with the physical medium.

Beginning with a blank canvas or carved pieces of wood, in his outdoor mobile studio Michael squirts paint from tubes exploring themes of energy, angelic language, morphic resonance, microorganism in plants and underwater creatures, fear, courage, alterity, and the infinite cycles of life and death. It is artists like Hilma Af Klint that awakened Michael’s connection to the concept of Angelic Linguistic. The idea that materiality and spirituality are separated, is a duality that he tries to remove in his work. Perceiving consciousness and subconsciousness as fields, seeing them morph and change constantly, it is through bonding that it can be reached. Artworks such as World As Angel (2019), Idea as World (2019), and Equatorial Mass Thought (2019) reflect this approach, protruding an ethereal and divine quality.  

In Moshe (2019), dancing with fluidity of colors––fuchsia, cerise, crimson, chartreuse, and neutral colors––amalgamating to configure a chaotic but controlled composition, as if each shaped color field were slowly bleeding into the next. In relation to Discosoma (2019), Michael mixes morphic leaves, coral reefs, and underwater elements linking to Moshe (2019), and calling to the cycle and memory in various forms of the environment. In fact, Nauert refers to the biologist and author named Rupert Sheldrake, researching plant development––the fields arrange accessible parts of the nervous system likewise inherited through morphic resonance, conveying a collective memory. He shows that our deepest connections do not come from DNA but from magnetism. Illustrated in many ways in Nauert’s paintings, they reflect how memory and body work as a magnet. 

Nauert's process is steeped in this balance between the known and unknown; the intrinsic link between the material and the spiritual, a marked departure from common schools of thought that seek to separate these two worlds. When presented to the observer, the life behind his painting is unmistakable. Viewers will see a physical manifestation of emotion and feeling that he has drawn up from a wellspring of ideas that are a coalescence of human experience. Having an external space to contemplate these innermost feelings is crucial to our understanding of ourselves, the universe, and how the two are eternally linked; Nauert's work provides this space with endless complexities for the eye and mind to rest on, to absorb. Seeing his pieces displayed here is a wonderful privilege, as it allows them to speak to each other as well and form a continuum that is breathtaking to behold. Natural elements of light and movement flow indelibly from one piece to another. As we can trace the otherworldly inspiration from piece to piece, we can also feel it radiate out to intertwine with our own consciousness, and take part in the vibrant life of Nauert's paintings.

Michael Nauert was born in 1988 in Southern California, where he still lives and works.  He creates abstract oil paintings and carved wood paintings based on nature, resonance, and mind-space. In 2014, he was part of a group show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and was a finalist for Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki co. shown in Japan. Awarded with scholarships and grants to study at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, he received a BFA in 2017. He also studied at Ox-Bow School of Art in the summers of 2015 and 2017. In 2019, he was invited to participate in an exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum titled “Run Straight Through'' for which his paintings were exploring concepts of nature-space and painting as a figure. He has been featured in many periodicals including New American Paintings (Issue 125), Art Maze Magazine, Friend of the Artist Magazine, and Floor Magazine. Since 2014, he has participated in many group exhibitions and duo exhibitions throughout the United States. Walking in My Own Steps is Michael Nauert’s first solo exhibition.  He currently focuses on deepening his investigation into the micro world of life and connectivity in nature and humankind. Through his practice, he continues to integrate movement through layers of paint being removed and repurposed as “mosaic” ––paint scraps (color and movement) taken from previous paintings and paint pallets, into one single painting, achieving the realization of more sculpted three-dimensional paintings.

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