A weathered steamboat rendered in golden yellows and ochres moves through water depicted in gradients of green and teal, with billowing white steam rising against a soft, hazy sky. The vessel's detailed wooden structure and paddle wheel are captured in a painterly style that evokes both historical documentation and dreamlike atmosphere.

untie the spell

Michael Krueger

9/8/2023 – 10/21/2023

‘untie the spell’ (1)

In the end, Prospero gives up the magic that he has usurped from a sprite, abandons his need for revenge, and chooses forgiveness. Thunder.

‘o dear father’ (2)

Untie the spell of death, so that I am no longer hunted by the hounds of grief, mercy, mercy. Untie the spell of beauty, so that I am no longer bewildered. Untie the spell of the story so that I no longer need an ending. Solemn music.

‘I’ll drown my book’ (3)

I think about how a drawing can be like a song, a spell that captures our emotions. How certain songs may allow us to suspend time and revel in a temporary emotional state, even find new emotional states. How some Hank Williams’ songs tell a sad story with a buoyant jubilance, and how in this contrast an elusive third element can emerge, which is sometimes melancholy. My son said to me the other day, “all the music you listen to is sad and about helplessness and sorrow… I do like that one about ‘me and julio down by the schoolyard”.

‘And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take’ (4)

One of my favorite lyrics, from the Gordon Lightfoot song "If You Could Read My Mind". I might not read the book again, but I will listen to a sad song over and over. The qualities of a drawing; the intonation of the pencil, the character of the tone, the quickness, or slowness, the pace of a line all give voice to the drawing. On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise.

‘In a cowslip’s bell I lie.’ (5)

Spellbound for a moment, transported by a sprawling vista, taken by the brilliant colors of a sunset, wells of emotional wellbeing are filling, detachment is within grasp. The world is not undone by detachment rather becoming. I have moments on occasion where I am looking at something seemingly random, and entire narratives unfold, sometimes an avalanche of personal memories and other times a catharsis occurs, unexpectedly. In the vulnerable moments shared in art we experience humanity; we move accompanied by the feeling that we are not alone.

_______________________

1.  (Tempest 5.1.165)

2.  (Tempest 1.2.48)

3.  (Tempest 5.2.148)

4. Gordon Lightfoot, Lyrics to “If You Could Read My Mind”, Reprise, 1970.

5.  (Tempest 5.1.152)

 

Exhibition Images ()

  • White gallery walls display six framed artworks arranged across three walls. The works feature vibrant landscapes and abstract compositions in varied color palettes—rich yellows and oranges, purples and reds, cool blues and greens—rendered in painterly styles. Concrete flooring grounds the minimalist exhibition space, with soft gallery lighting casting subtle shadows on the white walls.
  • Five framed artworks hang on white gallery walls above a polished concrete floor. From left to right: a vibrant abstract composition in purples, oranges, and reds; a dark landscape with green terrain and stormy sky; a soft pastel sunrise or sunset; a ethereal waterfall cascading through layered blue and white tones; and a golden pastoral scene with a solitary structure in a verdant field. Each work is mounted in a light-colored frame with substantial matting.
  • Four framed landscape photographs arranged horizontally on a white gallery wall above a polished concrete floor. From left to right: a dark nocturnal scene with a glowing yellow streak, a colorful cliff or rock formation at sunset, a misty waterfall cascading down layered rock faces, and a golden-hour view of an ornate building silhouetted against a luminous sky. Each print is mounted in a white frame with a gray shelf-like base.
A weathered steamboat rendered in golden yellows and ochres moves through water depicted in gradients of green and teal, with billowing white steam rising against a soft, hazy sky. The vessel's detailed wooden structure and paddle wheel are captured in a painterly style that evokes both historical documentation and dreamlike atmosphere.

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