NinaJohnson

Incidental, laboriously quick, and preciously considered, Miami-based painter Michael Clifford’s work is executed with levity, amassing elements of sexuality, loss, and sentimentality. Clifford investigates abstract mark making through the implementation of symbols. The notions in the symbols become bittersweet in their familiarity, yet are rooted in faint memory. The use of familial materials in his work suggests a proclivity towards childhood prophecies and intuition. Whether mark making with paper towels, drawing with his fingers, or painting with smoke bombs, Clifford’s practice is an ode to the frantic romantic in a collectively aware and domestic setting. Clifford has recently shown at the El-Saieh Gallery in Port-au-Prince, Gallery Diet, Miami, the Material Art Fair, Mexico City, Queer Thoughts Gallery, New York, and Courtney Blades Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. Clifford died in 2016, in Miami, FL.