Michael Hsieh

Artist Bio

 

My name is Michael Hsieh. 

I was born in Taiwan and moved to NZ at the age of 14. Growing up as a immigrate and experiencing 2 very different approaches to art education has always fueled the way of my art making processes. Before moving to NZ I studied at an Atelier for a few years. Learning the way of the old masters. During my time in Auckland university I was exposed to the contemporary world and conceptual art. I'm on a journey to better understand the old masters approach while injecting new concepts.

 

I have been working mainly in figurative painting in the last few years as I found the human body to be one of the most fascinating subjects to paint. 

I paint figures that are wrapped in plastic and tin foils because I'm so drawn to the abstract shapes and movements the body creates while being distorted by the wraps. The contrast between the organic figures and man made objects intertwined to tell so much interesting story. And I love when the figures can feel at peace and safe to express their emotion in this somewhat uncomfortable situation. It's a beautiful dance between chaos and calmness. And it's such a challenge to paint.