The many facets of artist Michael Gadlin’s life and career inspire his work as a painter.
Swaths of raw, unstretched canvas hang on the walls of Michael Gadlin’s studio, awaiting a paint swipe, sprayed stencil or the scrap beginnings of a collage. “I can’t think about a mark I want to make,” the artist says. “I just have to make it.”
A painter since 1997, Gadlin’s practice is improvisational, often working on more than one piece at a time. He combines spray paint, oil, acrylic and found objects—“Anything I can get my hands on,” he says. “Many years ago I stopped buying new materials.” Through the years, his art has evolved from a more figurative style and further into abstraction.
The artist splits his time between his studio and a newer interest: Building up the next generation of the Colorado arts community as executive director of PlatteForum, a Denver nonprofit fostering long-term educational partnerships between professional artists and underprivileged high school students. Gadlin’s position brings to full circle a relationship that began with his own postcollege artist residency and matured into a five-year stint on the organization’s board. “These experiences deepen my practice, because my own story has become richer,” he notes.
Gadlin’s work and life also honor his bicultural background, growing up between homes with his white mother and Black father. His father’s career as a scrap metal recycler and collector inspires his own commitment to recycled materials, as well as introspection on themes of race, class and ambiguity. And his sharp eye for the unusual and beautiful is as inherited as his altruism. “My mother was a writer and always introduced me and my brother to opportunities to serve our community,” the artist shares.
On Mosaic Community Campus, a cluster of buildings that will house the Denver School of the Arts, Gadlin is currently overseeing the direction of a public sculpture installation. The project allows him to collaborate with young art students and local welders, and to learn how to create large metal structures—a skill he now incorporates in his work. “I’m more and more interested in experiential things,” he reflects. “How do I transform a room?”
Gadlin’s desire is, at its heart, to create an impact by offering mentorship to the next generation of artists. “I am passionate about helping make sure the arts are accessible, available and remain diverse,” he says.
