EVENT ARCHIVE:

OCTOBER 2, 2022

LOS ANGELES EXHIBITION:

NAKED EYE STUDIO
1443 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007
6PM-10PM

Alive & Dwell (2022) is a collection of works by artist Mike Racanelli that chronicles nearly a decade of self-discovery, struggle, and growth, with art becoming a therapeutic way to deal with some exceptionally dark periods.

Alive began as a graphic print of a hand-drawn skull — a juxtaposition of a universal symbol of death with the word “ALIVE” emblazoned across the forehead — and evolved into an experiment in branding. Based on a short diary written by his father but discovered after his death, it plays on the idea that we should live every day as if it’s our last and tell the ones we love that you do.

Dwell developed as a series of mixed media on canvas drawing from love, loss, and grief, from 2021 through 2022. The works take on various characteristics of color, shape, and method, some more geometric, some very chaotic, and unfolded as life does, never as one plans. The titles aim to translate the works’ poetic nature in a language only defined on canvas. Striving to uncover his authentic self for the first time since childhood, these works embody the most essential human need: to connect.