Artist exhibits work in Art Gallery

The art work of John Michael Byrd will be on display in the Art Gallery at LSMSA now through Friday, April 28.

In his artist statement, Byrd explained that it always feels like he is searching for his tribe. He wants togetherness, ceremony and tradition. Yet, while this pull is strong, a sense of detachment keeps finding him.

“I yearn to be part of some greater energy while seeking seclusion,” he said. “Still, when my path deviates from the crowd, I feel a bit of relief – a little death.”

While grieving these choices and loss, he rejoices living in tension. This dance of little deaths is his way of seeing through the web of illusions and expectations.

In “Seeing Through Things,” Byrd explores many little deaths and rites of passages. Some have passed him by, but many have found him.

“The imagery of the crowning wreath of victory, the many heads of jealousy, the cork holding in free thoughts and the spirits that haunt our choices are all poetic gestures that help me see through and questions the things that hold me in place,” he said.

Byrd is primarily a painter, but has also worked in drawing, video, objects, performance and printmaking. He holds an M.F.A. in studio arts from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is also an alumnus of Louisiana State University, with a B.F.A. in painting and drawing. His work has been featured in numerous regional and national exhibitions and competitions. Also, he has been awarded several grants and scholarships, including the J. Kenneth Edmiston Memorial Scholarship and the Carl M. Thorp Memorial Art Scholarship. He lives and works in New York City.

The Art Gallery at LSMSA is open Monday through Friday 12 to 4 p.m. For more information contact Chris King at cking@lsmsa.edu.