Mike Odden Art Through the Decades

      Since I restarted making my Art after a hiatus of 10 years.  Since 2014 I have been using acrylic on canvas for my current body of work.   Using bright colors and hard edge lines and shapes to create mind maps that appear as endless convolutions of organic shapes that represent complex labyrinths with no end.  Each work is a celebration of line and color from my inner consciousness. It begins with the first color and first stroke and allows my subconscious to lead the way .

Through a form of meditation I allow myself to create a stream of consciousness that is free flowing where unconscious decisions are made as to choices of color and shape.  The paintings consist of thousands of organo-morphic shapes that are a consideration of the interior of the human body and its connections to primordial forms of life. Further, concepts lie beneath the surface, stemming from diverse interests, including, philosophy, faith, cosmology, and biology.  These concepts are then processed through my own personal absurdities, dreams and metaphors.

 I find using this process of painting to be exceptionally peaceful to my mind, exploring new actions through the movement of brush and color to create organic compositions, creating inner life within each work. 

My art has taken me exploring in the depths of my mind, finding ways to bring to the surface by the paint strokes, different solutions to resolve issues within the painting.   As I come to a decision point of which path to choose to go forward  the strokes commit the selection.  Completion seems to come naturally when the painting tells me to stop and all is resolved.

My thinking is influenced by Carl Jung’s ideas of self, where each of my works are a reflection of self. Carl Jung writes “ self is an encompassing whole, which acts as container symbolized by a circle, a square, or an intricate mandala or labyrinth. “ 

      I have been influenced directly and indirectly by many artists throughout  my lifetime notably by artists like Kurt Hundertwasser, Gustave Klimt, Ad Reinhardt, Picasso, and Jackson Pollack.