Artist Profile
Michelle Farrell
Background
Michelle was born in Nyeri, Kenya and arrived in New Zealand with her family as a young child, where she was raised and educated. Her roots to New Zealand date back to 1836 on her maternal side.
Michelle's journey into sculpture began in the late 1980's through attending a bronze casting course at the Art School, Dunedin Polytechnic. These studies opened the door to a passion and excitement that has continued ever since. Since then Michelle has continued to produce works mainly in bronze.
Her figurative sculptures have been exhibited in New Zealand and Australia. Her works are regularly shown by a number of well-established fine art galleries in New Zealand. Her sculptures are held in private collections in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe, Germany, Greece, Asia and wider Pacific. She has also received public and corporate commissions for her work, and has worked extensively in all scales of the bronze medium - from monumental to miniature.
Movement, energy & dance expressions are strong features of Michelle's figurative works, as well as harmonic connections with nature & the cosmos.
Aspects of the human condition are sometimes expressed in humourous and ulifting ways. She seeks to brings a sense of lightness and delicacy to a medium usually associated with weight and substance.
Michelle generally gets a "picture" of a piece within her mind which provides the catalyst/compulsion to physically create the work. Very often she will make a quick sketch of the idea before it is forgotten. She prefers to "go with the flow" and the work may change many times within the creative process.
Michelle has always lived close to nature with a deep love of animals, especially horses. She has been fortunate to receive several monumental commissions to sculpt life-size bronze horses(see here).
An eclectic thinker Michelle is interested in the intersections between art, science and spirituality. Of particular interest to her are the unseen "energy" and spiritual connections which underly and steer existence
Gallery & Exhibition History
1995-2000 Ferner Galleries,
Parnell & Wellington1995-1996 Schuberts Gallery, Gold Coast
Australia Jabaru Gallery, Sanctuary Cove
1997 Gold Coast Sculpture Society
2000-2002 Studio of Contemporary Art, Newmarket
NewmarketFranklin Cultural and Arts Centre, Pukekohe Equine Images Gallery, Cambridge
Private Commissions
2001 -2006 Public & Private Commissions,
Monumental Equine Works 2000-2009 Statements Gallery, Napier
Zeayou Gallery, Taupo Flagstaff Gallery, Devonport Artists Room, Dunedin Heritage Gallery, Cambridge
2009-2010 Parnell Gallery, Auckland
2009 Representing Galleries:
Parnell Gallery, Flagstaff, Zeayou, Statements, The Artists Room Uxbridge – "Metal Matters"
North Shore City Art Awards –
Eye for Sculpture, Clevedon
NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington
2010 Representing Galleries:
Representing Galleries: Parnell Gallery, Flagstaff, Zeayou, Statements, Artists Room "Korero" Exhibition - Uxbridge (in honour of deceased poet Bernard Gadd) "Braveheart" Exhibition Curator:- Liz Caughey Private Commissions "Artfusions" -, Northcote " FAMILIARS", Artists Room
Dunedin
Kings College Art Sale Eye for Sculpture, Whitford Tauranga Outdoor Sculpture
2011 "Then, Now When"
"Then, Now When"NZ Academy of Fine Arts,Wellington"Eastscape" - Uxbridge"Pure Passion for Sculpture"Opening Lyon Gallery, Mt Eden"Art for their Sake" NZAFA Fundraiser for ChristchurchPrivate Commissions"............ this world is indeed a living being endowed with a soul and intelligence ... a single living entity containing all other living entities, which by their nature are all related."
—Plato, Timaeus, 29/30; 4th century BCE
