Michael Sarich: Butting Heads

March 8 – April 26, 2014

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 8, 6 to 8 pm

Michael Sarich, professor of art at University of Nevada Reno returns to JAYJAY for his third One Person show — a virtual tours de force of powerful paintings, drawings and ceramics. It is a rare occurrence at JAYJAY, when the entire space is dedicated to one artist, but Sarich is such an artist, working in both two and three dimensional mediums.

Sarich is a masterful composer of montage like narratives using his own personal icons, and universal symbols that on their own are banal, but linked together in rich layers and provocative interaction, become graphic statements of the state of our culture and world. If we look to celebrities to point us in the right direction both politically and socially, then why not Mickey Mouse, Sarich’s favorite expert on world politics and social issues. Mickey continues to inhabit paintings and sculpture as mentor and muse, along with the blessed virgin, her friend the devil girl, a trout, and the rest of Mickey’s family.

Michael Sarich is a 2007 recipient of the prestigious Joan Mitchell award. He also enjoyed a highly regarded one person exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno in 2008. His recent two person exhibit at the Oats Park Art Center in Fallon, NV produced a beautiful catalogue. His work can be found in many private and public collections, including: The Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Bemis Center for the Arts, Omaha, NE; Museum of Art, Missoula, MT; Jun Kaneko Museum, Omaha, NE; University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV; and the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Categories: 2014, Exhibitions