Veil - Mikel Elam (NEW)
Veil, Mikel Elam

Veil

Artist

Mikel Elam

Nationality

American

Heritage

African American

Medium

Offset Lithograph

Screen Print

Date

2019

Dimensions

22 1/4 x 30 inches

Edition Size

46 prints in this edition

Printer

Gustavo Garcia

Provenance

Brandywine Workshop and Archives

Location

Philadelphia, PA

About the Work

From the Artist

Now having a multitude of experiences within my lifetime through studies, travel and extraordinary mentorship, I have realized as a culture we are still chained to the past indiscretions. With all of this modernity, I am having the same feelings of invisibility and inequalities of my parents' parents. Technological booms, as futuristic as it sounds, have only continued to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. This print works from the center out. It starts with the cosmos. Some might think of it as heaven. In essence the beauty of our origin. The figure in all of its manifestations emanating from the light. We remained chained to a flawed system. I wanted this print to look visually appealing through color and form. Upon deeper investigation, the eye will travel to the subtle symbols of society badly in need of repair.
—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records

My images are from an imaginary world which reflects and contrasts real world ideals. This dimension we coexist within is both beautiful in nature and horrific in occurrences. Hundreds of years millions of events passed on from generation to generation. Wreaking havoc on mind body and spirit. We are a multicultural society. Everyone's origins are key elements to the balance of nature. We are all important and relevant. In art there is also an imbalance of images. The time has come to acknowledge art as culturally rich in its diversity. With enlightenment, positivity and effort we can rise. This is the realm in which my work inhabits.
—Excerpted from https://mikel-elam.format.com, accessed 6-16-2021


Veil is a mesmerizing composition which highlights Elam’s central themes of evolution, self-discovery, and experimentation. As visuals of bodies are seen revolving around an intricate center orb, with the vibrant, warm colors distinguished against the more subdued, blue hues, the notions of investigation and manifestation are emphasized. These centrical patterns create a sense of a pathway into another dimension. Veil provokes the viewer to bring their own feelings and ideas to the piece, as Elam loves “the exploration of new ideas through both tried and experimental methodology.”
—Adapted from https://tonywardstudio.com/gallery/mikel-elam-painter/, accessed 6-16-2021 

Mikel Elam's Veil focuses on storytelling through memory and dreams and their psychological impact on how we think about time, history, and futurism. His work captures the energy of the modern world.
—Excerpted from Halima Taha, from Pigment of the Soul: Visiting Artist Prints, 2019–2021 (2022) exhibition catalog: https://brandywineworkshopandarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Pigment-of-the-Soul-catalog.pdf, accessed 4-27-2022
 

About the Artist

Mikel Elam

Mikel Elam, a visual artist working primarily as a painter, is based in Philadelphia. Elam earned his BA in studio arts/painting from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. He went on to study at the School of Visual Arts, New York City.
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