We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michael Ross. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Michael , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I get up between 5-6am; the only time the house is quiet and I can do some reading while drinking too much coffee. (Recent reads I’d recommend: “Tosh” by Tosh Berman, son of the great Wallace and Shirley; “”Closer You Are” by Matthew Cutter, about Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices; “Radiant” by Brad Gooch, an excellent tome describing the wonderful and heartbreaking story of Keith Haring; and “Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin, which I had never read before and always meant to.)
Anyway after that my 4-year-old son gets up, and the whirlwind experience of playing and/or getting him off to school begins. After preschool dropoff, I head to the studio and gallery, catch up on correspondence, do any internetting I may need to do. Then depending on the day and the week, I get down to the business of painting, or preparing surfaces to paint, or straightening out the gallery for the next show, or some combination thereof. All of this while ingesting more coffee and a steady stream of music (current typical selections include Guided By Voices, Grateful Dead, John Coltrane, Steve Reich, The Feelies, Liquid Liquid…). Then I either go pick up the boy at 3pm or head home around 6pm (depending on the day), have dinner with my wife and kid, spend as much time as possible playing with said kid before the whirlwind experience that is bedtime. Then if there’s time I’ll kick back on the couch with my wife and watch a show or a movie before collapsing in bed and doing it all again the next day. Most days are like this but somehow all days feel completely different.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a painter, muralist and curator. I have a studio at 333 Midland in Highland Park, MI and it’s attached to the Annex Gallery, which I also run as director and lead curator. My paintings in recent years have taken on sculptural qualities as I’ve expanded their content to include the shape of the actual canvases and panels. Also recently I’ve taken to making wooden boxes to paint on, which sometimes include an inner, “secret” element. I enjoy the dimensionality of it.
In my other work as curator of the Annex Gallery, what I most enjoy is finding sometimes-disparate artists and presenting them together in such a way as to complement each other; I think of it not unlike putting a band bill together, which I did a lot of in my 20s and 30s. The gallery is a large, open space and the possibilities are fairly endless; I like to think I’m always finding new ways to activate the space.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My Mom. I remember early on when I was first practicing art as a serious endeavor and she was looking at some of my work and she said, “one day this is the only thing you’ll have to do.” I hadn’t even really thought at that point about art as a means of subsistence..
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“Life is shorter than you think, and there’s a lot to do – keep yr chin up!”
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
That art is the answer to most questions. Art is the ultimate expression of truth, beauty and life.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Most of the time, I’m excited about my work. I go through some phases where I’m sort of grasping at what to do next, sure, but more often than not I have a hard time finding enough hours in the workday to carry out all of the ideas I’ve got running through my brain. I often lie awake at night constructing paintings in my head, and hope I can remember them the next day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mrossart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_ross_41/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ross-b4a10586/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.ross.587
- Other: https://www.333midland.com/exhibition.html
