Born in The UK in 1971 Michael spent most of his school time in the art room. He went on to graduate in Fine Art Painting from Bath Spa and then to complete a post graduate course in Indian Miniature Painting whilst in India. Since 2013 Michael has worked from a studio in central Bath and has exhibited regularly at the RWA in Bristol and the Victoria art gallery in Bath as well as other venues around the West of England. He has been awarded prizes for both his paintings and drawings.
Reflecting my interest in relationships and the interplay between internal and external realities, each piece is an exploration of unity and totality. Exploring ideas of integration through the use of line, shape and form the pieces are playful yet precise, often becoming intuitive and expanding into unexpected forms. I would wish for the viewer to take from the work a heightened sense of awareness. Painting can be a form of meditation in that it brings one’s attention into the present where we can be in union with creation as a whole, fully enjoying our existence in this wonderful, mysterious creation.
Interview in Interalia Magazine
Richard Bright: Can you begin by saying something about your background?
Michael Falzoni: I started to love painting during my teenage years, going on to study painting at Bath Spa. Soon after I started practicing Sahaja yoga meditation and travelled to India to study Indian miniature painting. I loved India and ended up being there for about 5 years.
RB: How has the study of Indian miniature painting translated into your work? MF: Mostly the use of controlled watercolour. In my recent work the use of bright, radiant colour. Also the idea of looking into another world. Indian miniatures are more illustrative but still highly imaginative with great plays on perspective and use of shape to give the picture plane a playful, vibrant surface.
Michael Falzoni: The Pink Curve Painting, watercolour on paper, 103 x 103 cm
RB: Can you say something about your working process?
MF: I like to build an image without a fixed outcome in mind. Playing around on top of basic structures, seeking the elusive qualities of art. I work on a lot of paintings at one time, putting them away and later reassessing. I enjoy the process of taking time to build up layers often over-painting on sanded back layers of under-painting.
RB: You once said to me that you try not to think while you are working. What did you mean by this?
MF: Trying is not really a part of it. It’s more about being in seventh heaven, or we could say having one’s attention on top of the head, beyond the thoughts. What exactly attention is could be a topic for another conversation!
RB: Can painting be regarded as a form of meditation?
MF: For me meditation is a very blissful thing. It is something which connects the individual with the all-pervading and enlightens our inner being. One of the benefits of meditation is that it brings you into the present, into a state of thoughtless awareness. Focusing on an activity such as painting can also help to bring us into the moment so in that sense it can be a form of meditation, yes.
RB: Your work encourages us to observe ourselves in the shifting process of observing and, by doing so, transforms our relationship to perception. Is this how you wish your art to be perceived?
MF: That sounds fine to me! If my work can bring joy to people then that’s the best. If people enjoy the process which you have described, or find that it helps them perceive themselves in a truer light then, yes.
RB: Do you seek harmony in your work, both for yourself and the viewer?
MF: Yes, absolutely. Nature is the master. Its harmonies are exquisite and continually inspirational. In my work I’m moving away from more obvious, symmetrical, harmonies and seeking harmonies through more spontaneous and diverse forms.