“This is a story ‘bout Billie Joe and Bobbie Sue. Two young lovers with nothin’ better to do than sit around the house, get high, and watch some tunes. And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose..”
— Steve Miller, ‘Take The Money And Run’
Axiom Contemporary is pleased to announce, ‘Cowboys and Ballerinas’, a one-man show featuring the works of Michael Gorman, opening on January 16th, 2021 from 6:00 until 9:00p.m. These works were all created at Axiom’s former Santa Monica gallery space in 2020. This long- awaited show features two of the artists most sought after tableaus. The electric dreamlike figure of the ballerina, and the stoic gunslinger cowboy, ready for a self-imposed war at any moment. These contrary images are not working in opposition. They carve out the polarity of both iconic symbols, while still having symmetry and symbiosis. A true yin and yang in perfect harmony.
Michael Gorman grew up in the Midwest in 1963, shuffling between Texas and Kansas. Or at least that’s the rumor. He was also a cryptologist in the Navy, so they say. One thing that remains true is the artist ability to capture lightning in a bottle with his mixed media paintings multiple times. A high wire act that is surely not for the faint of heart. A battle of bravado and insecurity with each painted movement.That cozy place in between, where true art lies.
