Artist Statement
Mead M Mitchell
5/19/2015
I am captivated by the nature of representation; illusionistic and symbolic modes of representation are the visual storytelling method. Informed by my traditional art training, I seek to find my voice in the conversation of art by exploring the cannon of representation as it changes in the collective consciousness. My influences range from artists like Antonio Lopez Garcia and Mancini to Lichtenstein and street art. In my work, I use black-and-white photography, life, and even my imagination to construct images with a style and sensibility that reflect how I see the world. From the abstractions and simple beauty of clouds to the human figure, I am interested in how we perceive two-dimensional phenomenal experiences and what interesting things happen in that translation.
Painting, for me, is like playing a game of chess. I am focused on the individual moves, “if, then scenarios” that I equate to the painting process. I am simultaneously thinking about the overall strategy and emblematic narrative of the work. I try to construct images that are striking and engage the viewer with the use of formal elements and imagery, in the expectation that the viewer will invest themselves in the piece and find some empathy with its creation, its story, and meaning.
Artist Biography
Max was born in 1987 on a farm in Virginia. He found his passion for the arts as a young boy. In his young academic career, he was mentored by local artist Brian Counihan. At the age of 18, he moved to Philadelphia where he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. There he received a certificate in painting. He then went on to receive a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania. Mead moved back to the Roanoke area where he started a gallery called “Roanoke Art Work” that showed local emerging artists as well as visiting artists from around the country. Max is currently maintaining a studio practice in Roanoke VA.
Education
BFA, University of Pennsylvania, December 2012
Certificate of Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 2010
Awards
2013 Best Figure, Bath County Juried Art Show
2013 Paul Ostaseski Memorial Award & Third Place, Roanoke Sidewalk Juried Art show
2010 Best in show Roanoke College Annual Juried Art Show
2009 Best in show Bath County Juried Art Show.
Solo Exhibitions
2014 Ferrum Collage, Ferrum Va
2013 Fleda A Ring Gallery, Roanoke, Va
2012 Roanoke College, Olin Hall, Salem VA
2010 Patten Philips Gallery, Roanoke VA
2005 Shaw Gallery, Roanoke VA
Group Exhibitions
2013 Open Studio Tour, Roanoke VA
2011 Roanoke College, Olin Hall, Salem VA
2010 Bath county art show, Bath County VA
2010 Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
Employment
2021-present Taubman Museum of Art, Preparator & Art Handler/Technician, Roanoke Va
2012-13 (R.A.W.) Roanoke Art Works, Self Employed, Art Gallery, Roanoke, VA
2013-2015 Gifted Art Teacher, Roanoke County Schools, Roanoke, VA
2009 Teachers Assistant at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Summer Program.
2001-03 Studio Assistant, Richard Moon, Moon Pottery Studio, Roanoke, VA
2003 Artist Assistant, Mimi Harris Studio, Roanoke, VA