artwork by © Michael Sagato – more images on my flickr
I went to Milk Gallery to see Michael Sagato’s work not knowing what to expect. I know Sagato is around my age and is quickly becoming a very successful artist so I was curious to see what was considered impressive enough to achieve such success. In this series, “The Play of Shine and Shade”, Sagato paints the human figure, mainly female, with a renaissance-style technique. His nudes are beautiful and realistic and he’s drapery reminds me of the old masters. Few of his pieces also reminded me of Odd Nerdrum and one in particular, “Reincarnation”, of Salvador Dali.
There is no doubt Sagato is a talented painter. His brushwork is sophisticated, his colors are rich, dark and dramatic, And his subject matter is thought provoking. I had the pleasure to meet Michael and chatted a bit about his work and his process. Milk Gallery has extended his show until Wednesday April 30th. I hope you have the chance to view his paintings, I highly recommend it.