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| Michael Sprouse |
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| Though artist Michael Sprouse has been a professional artist for over 20 years, he began his foray onto the national art scene after becoming co-owner and curator of the acclaimed eklektikos gallery of art in Washington, DC in 1993. Over the next 10 years as curator of eklektikos gallery, he organized hundreds of exhibits incorporating thousands of artworks from countless artists from across the nation and the globe. He also served as curator for off-site exhibitions for several embassies and various art organizations in the DC Metro area.
In 1999, Sprouse turned away from the abstracted style of work that he had been known for locally and produced an entirely new body of work consisting of haunting and touching contemporary narrative portraits which he modeled after the empyrean facial expressions found in the subjects of vintage portrait photography. This new work took the DC art scene by storm and lead to a full page glowing review in the Washington Post Arts section.
Since closing eklektios gallery in 2002, Sprouse has worked full-time creating his specialized work which can now be found in private and public collections across the United States, Europe, Canada, and South America. These neo-romantacisim examples of some of Sprouse's work have been called "evocatively beautiful" and "mesmerizing" by art critics and collectors alike isn such publications as The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, Art and Antiques, and more.
Some collector’s of Sprouse’s work include Best Selling author David Lozelle Martin, Daniel H. Schulman - President of Priceline.com, Academy Award winning director Quentin Tarrantino, and César Gaviria Trujillo - former President of Colombia and Secretary General of the Organization of American Sates. Original works by artist Michael Sprouse can be found in private and corporate art collections across the United States, Europe, Canada and South America. Besides being represented by fine art galleries in Washington DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, Nashville and more, large scale high quality archival giclee prints on canvas of Sprouse's work can now also be located in galleries and high-end designer showrooms across the country thanks to the Fine Art Publishing company of Ariel Of France.
Artist's Statement
As an artist, I find that the most memorable art, regardless of its style, all share one common characteristic - it’s ability to successfully tell a story. Since the birth of communication, humanity has been connected to the “story”. We are lulled to sleep by them as children, enthralled by them on the stage and screen as adults, and are compelled to share our own with the young as we drift into senior-hood.
I have always been fascinated by the imagery of early silent film and vintage photography and the "stories" they portrayed. It is the same focus on silent communication, delivered only by expression, that motivates my work today.
I use in-depth expression in my work to relate interpersonal stories of lost love, hope, fear, desire, dedication, wistful remembrances and more. The faces I paint are symbolically reminiscent of vague and vintage dream landscapes which focus on the metaphoric mood and flow of each person’s individual story.
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