Student Show: Michael Garda

About the Artist

Mike is a Jersey-bred Capricorn making a new home for himself in the Hudson Valley. He enables open conversations about mental health on each canvas. Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree In Psychology and Fine Art from Syracuse University and is completing his final semester in Caldwell University’s Master’s in Counseling and Art Therapy. As an interdisciplinary artist and future art therapist, he uses his platform to combat mental illness and the stigma surrounding mental health. One way Mike does so is by unpacking identity’s relationship with psychology. Through his own exploration of self as a queer artist, he often Illustrates the intersectionality between mental health and sexuality.

Artist Statement

I am enamored by the human figure and captivated by how many emotions the body is capable of expressing and communicating. Our bodies speak without vocalizing. Even without a face, our bodies are able to project our innermost thoughts, feelings, and emotions. My figure work focuses on issues with mental health and emotions. As I continue to experiment with my artistic identity have pushing myself to try unconventional media and techniques and explore what my heart wants to communicate to the world. I draw influence from surrealism, shock art, and classical figure drawings and want my work to stand as a unique style to highlight emotional struggle. Much of work is an attempt to illustrate raw emotion. Often I create my work as a way to help understand, dissect, and process my own feelings. Often I find the process of art making itself to be most comforting when sitting with difficult emotions. The acts of layering and building upon surface help to depict the nuances of the human experience. I rarely complete a work in one sitting and prefer to work and rework pieces coming back to them over time. Pausing to reflect and recollect gives my work a richer, more personal meaning