Michael Dominick
In 2002 Dominick received his MFA from Hunter College in New York City including studying abroad at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London, UK. It was during this time in London, after being inspired by the works of Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni, that Dominick really began to focus on the properties of heat and steam in his art making. This eventually led the transition away from his heat generating cast iron sculptures and towards the molten iron painting series he started in 2008 as a visiting artist at William Patterson University. The resulting work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in the U.S. and Europe and has been reviewed in ARTnews, The NY Times, The New Yorker and The Village Voice among other publications. Dominick was trained as a sculptor, but he’s been revisiting the genre of painting via a unique process requiring 2,800-degree molten iron as a liquid tool for mark making. In addition to his studio practice Dominick is also the founding member and main organizer of New York City’s Manhattan Iron Project where he brings molten iron performances and demonstrations to the asphalt streets of NYC and beyond. Dominick’s studio is located at The Gardenship in Kearny, NJ and he lives in Manhattan, NYC.
ARTIST STATEMENT
In 2008 I developed a technique for painting with 2800-degree molten iron as it comes directly out if the furnace. This persuasion of the liquid fire on its collision course with the picture plane results in rich, depth filled compositions filled with gestural strokes and splashes that are layered with sweat, dirt, coke dust, oil paint, gold leaf and sometimes blood. Painting with molten iron is dangerous work. But it can transform the chaos of experimental foundry practice, complete with its exuberance and fearless exploration, into splendid visual poetry. By allowing apparent randomness to play a supporting role in the work’s creation I am fostering the creation of art that would not be possible if left solely to rational human cognition, but the work is not just about abstraction. The world we know is slowly burning up around us. I’m presenting the extremes of burnt paper and 24ct. gold just as the news says the Dow is up but more have died. It is the world we live in. The world of extremes.
