Michael Staniak’s hypnotic and textured surfaces act as a portal to a post-digital world, one in which we inhabit both physical and virtual spheres, and reflect on the issues this archival existence can entail. Gently undulating contours shimmer enticingly, redolent of the implied tactility of a touchscreen.
Michael Staniak was born in Melbourne in 1982. His adolescence was primarily a sporting one and, in his early twenties, he became a professional tennis player - a career which was cut short due to injury. The silver lining to this particular cloud was Staniak’s subsequent movement from the tennis court to the artist studio, spending a year in his back garden toiling over a folio for entry into art college, he reignited a passion for the creative arts.
Staniak studied digital media communications in the United States and, discovering an artistic and academic verve, went on to study for a BFA followed by an MFA at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts (graduating in 2011). Staniak’s work formed part of Unit London’s 2018 group exhibition Looking For U which showcased eight outstanding artists’ explorations of art in the digital age. Staniak’s solo shows include Anytime Anywhere and Solid State at Steve Turner in Los Angeles; New Surface at NKN in Melbourne; IMG_ at Contemporary Art Museum in St Louis; and Permanent Display at the Annarumma Gallery in Naples.
