ARTIST STATEMENT Micah Crandall-Bear’s abstract landscape paintings examine Earth’s intrinsic resources and our disposition toward their accelerated transformation. His concept is infused with linear layers that cascade from atmospheric to subterranean. Landscape details hint at daily and seasonal shifts in light, evoking a sense of evolution and balance. In an ever-increasing technological world, his work reminds us to pause and admire our wild and natural surroundings. He presents abstractions that inspire a deep and effusive connection to nature.
Crandall-Bear achieves longitudinal depth by exacting precisely rendered lines and seamless expanses of color. This explicitly composed depth communicates a sense of contingency and locality. Micah’s construction of space is enhanced by his painting method. His ‘wet-on-wet’ method is a contemporary application of ‘alla prima,’ a traditional technique used mostly in oil painting, where layers of wet paint are applied to previous layers of wet paint. No matter how precise or general the area, Micah’s layered brushstrokes are decisive, but also gestural, often spanning the entire surface of the canvas from left to right. This highly active method of painting is sometimes tempered through rapid buffing and blending. The outcome is a smooth, boundless, and energetic surface. As a Northern California native, Crandall-Bear established his artistic roots locally and continues to promote the growth of his community. His reputation brings him consistent national and international attraction from both private and public collectors. Micah’s work now adorns the walls of prominent corporations throughout the country, university hospitals, Facebook data centers in Malaysia, Sweden, and more. His work has been featured in ArtSlant, American Art Collector Magazine, Forbes, and PBS.
RESUME
2021 Gallery Selects / George Billis Gallery / May / Los Angeles, CA
2019 Art Palm Springs / George Billis Gallery / February / Palm Springs, CA 3cm Museum / Chi K11 Art Space / March / Shenyang, China
Art Market San Francisco / George Billis Gallery / April / San Francisco, CA Altum / Solo exhibition / Brannan Mason Gallery / May - June / Los Angeles, CA American Artists in Paris / Le Salon Des Arts / June / Paris, France Rinse / Solo exhibition / Elliott Fouts Gallery / July / Sacramento, CA Art Jakarta / D Gallerie / August - September / Jakarta, Indonesia 2018 Seattle Art Fair / Joseph Gross Gallery / Aug 2-5 / Seattle, WA Ataraxia / Licht Feld Gallery / June 14-17 / Basel, Switzerland Modern Landscape / Slate Gallery / March-April / Oakland, CA Art Stage Singapore / D Gallerie / January 25-28 / Singapore 2017 Galerie Brigitta Leupin / October-November / Basel, Switzerland Wide Open Walls / August 10-20 / Sacramento, CA Art Stage Jakarta / D Gallerie / August 11-13 / Jakarta, Indonesia Radium / Elliott Fouts Gallery, solo exhibition / July 1-31 / Sacramento, CA Art Pampelonne / Joseph Gross Gallery / June 29-July 2 / Saint Tropez, France Versailles Now / Mirus Gallery / May - June / San Francisco, CA Art Market SF / George Billis Gallery / April / San Francisco, CA Art Palm Springs / Adrien Kavachnina Gallery / February 16-19 2016 Scope Miami Beach / Joseph Gross Gallery / December 2016 / Miami, FL Group Exhibition / Adrien Kavachnina Gallery / April 2016 / Paris, France Telluric / Solo Exhibition / Elliott Fouts Gallery / July 2016 / Sacramento, CA Group Exhibition / Christopher Hill Gallery / October 2016 / Healdsburg, CA 2015 Variations on Abstraction 2010-2015 / Transmission Gallery / Oakland, CA Latitudes / Elliott Fouts Gallery / Sacramento, CA Art Palm Beach / Castle Fitzjohns Gallery / Palm Beach, FL MIA Art Fair / Castle Fitzjohns Gallery / Miami FL Castle Fitzjohns Pop up / Jan-March / Seafair yacht / Miami, FL 2014 Spectrum / Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA Dogpatch Gallery / San Francisco, CA Two-Person show with Tim Saternow / Christopher Hill Gallery, Healdsburg, CA Essential Six, PBS / KVIE, Tim Collom Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2013 New Horizons / Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA Face Yourself / Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA 40 and Under / Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA GO / Christopher Hill Gallery, Healdsburg, CA 2012 Launch / Sacramento, CA aMFa Gallery / Parallel Affinity, Berkeley, CA 2011 Abstract: 2000 – 2010 / Temporary Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, CA Develop / California State University of Sacramento, The Union Gallery, Sacramento, CA 40 and Under / Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA Launch / Sacramento, CA The Man and the Latter / Beatnik Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2010 Terrene Series / Francesca Gallery, Sausalito, CA Skinner Howard Gallery / Sacramento, CA The Urban Hive / Sacramento, CA 2005 A Creative Merger: A Collaboration by the CA Lawyers for the Arts / Sacramento County Public Law Library, Sacramento, CA The Sacramento Public Law Library and the Attorney Generals Office, Sacramento, CA The Sacramento Department of Justice, Sacramento, CA