On view in the Small Space at Transmission Gallery:
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Michael Nineohseven, 1965 Ford Galaxy Custom 500, 2023, mixed media on panel, 9.25" x 17.5"

MICHAEL NINEOHSEVEN
THOSE WE CHOOSE

August 17 - September 30, 2023
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Transmission Gallery welcomes Michael Nineohseven's installation, Those We Choose, comprised of well over a hundred intimate and colorful portraits on panel.
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Michael’s keen observation and attention to nuance and composition are evident as is a good-natured affection for his subjects. Focusing on all kinds of people he has some type of connection with, the images largely come from phonecam interactions and photo documentation, fleeting and in the moment. Bold paint strokes, color blocks and open unfinished spaces carry that sense of immediacy and energy through the work.

Presented in freeform array, provocative characters vie with more conventionally dressed regular folks. Dogs sneak in, a snake, birds, kids. Intense and direct or with oblique gaze we meet these people, commanding, shy, pensive, off-guard, anxious, mischievous, theatrical, all so human, all chosen for this time and place.

All are welcome to stop in during the Opening Reception, Saturday, August 19th, between 1 and 5pm. Meet the artist, check out the installation, enjoy the light refreshments on our outdoor deck with live music performances by  @z.e.r.o.c.h.a.r.i.s.m.a and @ashcan.grandpa during the afternoon. Free street parking in the neighborhood nearby.
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In anticipation of the exhibition, Nineohseven completed an 11-by-11-foot mural now on view on our lovely outdoor deck. See it with Those We Choose, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 5pm, through September 30th.

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POCKET ACES

$150.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 7-1/4" x 8"

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C. FITCH

$200.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 12" x 12"

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STINK 1

$250.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 11-1/2 x 11-1/2

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METCALF

$150.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 12-1/8 x 12-1/8      

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Evan

$150.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 7-1/8 x 8

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MOTHER and CHILD

$425.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 13-1/2 x 22  

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THOMPKINS

$175.00

Michael Nineohseven, mixed media on panel, 9-3/8 x 14-7/8

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​Transmission Gallery’s TaVee Lee talks about Those We Choose with Michael Nineohseven
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​TG: Your installation, Those We Choose, is now up at Transmission Gallery in Oakland. Can you explain the title?
 I felt stumped about a title, I didn’t want something super generic about portraits, so I asked friends, and this was a suggestion. I thought it was really warm, and a good title that felt like it fit with the work. That came from a friend, Diego, a painter, and furniture maker who lives in LA. We met in Brooklyn and haven’t seen each other in many years. It felt so right.
 
TG: How do you choose who you are painting?
 It’s a whim on the day or sometimes people will send some photos they have tucked away. If a certain photo feels like something I want to work with, I’ll ask. Due to Covid I haven’t had the benefit of working from life as much, now in the world of smartphones more people are documenting and that’s good for me.
 
The reasoning is mercurial, not a lot of logic involved, it just feels right.
 
TG: Are they people you know?
 A very, very small percentage, maybe 4 or 5 were random, before I made the decision to do people I knew. I started with some random studies, then I shifted to using people I knew as a resource. Friends, acquaintances, coworkers, so many ways people meet each other and make connections. Pre-Covid I would do trips as often as possible, a few times a year. At least once a year I would try to do an international trip. I miss traveling as a way to stay in contact, while seeing new cultures and meeting new people.
 
I would always take a lot of pictures and always intend that it will be a reference that will work into an art practice.
 
Once I started this show in particular, I reached out to friends to let them know I’m doing this and checking about using their image. A “no” is rare, almost everyone says yes. Some people have issues with their image, but that’s generally not the case. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback and support, one of my fears is I’m not going to able to do a portrait of everyone who has reached out.
 
TG: You have pursued creative endeavors, other kinds of painting for a long time, large scale, fast paced, public; this series is different.
 This is the first time in my life I’ve had this kind of focus, that I’ve given it this kind of respect and presence. I’ve done a lot of commissions, 2 – 5 images a week. It was really coincidental; around the time I met your gallery I had started treating my work with more respect than I had ever done before. This show collided at the same time.
 
TG: How do you approach the work?
 It’s really funny because it started with just what materials I had, I would see an image and think, “hmm, this will suit the materials I have.” I work on wood panels that are left over from fabrication shops that would otherwise be trash. It’s a way to have materials. I’m taking what is available and find an image that can work with it.
 
My health has affected my income which in turn affected what materials would be available, so that influenced a theme. So far, I really like how that’s working out. We all have to adapt to the circumstance we encounter to continue whatever practice we do; financial, time, material, whatever. Creative people try to find a way to overcome problems.
 
TG: What is it like to talk about how health has impacted your practice?
 Part of me feels like that’s a private thing. Then I think there’s a way that the private situation can be something others relate to. Health is a really common way people struggle and they do it privately and it has a very real impact on day-to-day existence. Revealing it is a way to connect, we all have our obstacles to manuever around or work with.
 
Though this show was fast approaching I took about two weeks off, a period of burn out. I was kind of feeling under the weather and I allowed myself to rest and now I’m coming back to working again. I’m glad I allowed myself to take a break and not force myself when things needed a break. Artists are their own worst critic, it’s hard to be kind and gentle when you need that.
 
I wouldn’t say it was easy to take that break, but I really needed to take that break.
 
We have to acknowledge all of our influences, daily interactions.
 
TG: How did you get started as an artist?
Since I was a child, I was always making marks, something I always enjoyed using my time doing. It was always more about the process than the end result. I took a lot of joy in trying to draw, or even before that color, coloring in other people’s drawings with crayons.  With this work, I focused on being present with the process, not the end result. If I think about the end result before I get there it’s a real struggle to get there. I’m just trying to make sure the process feels right.
 
TG: Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was an orphan found in Seoul Korea and adopted to the US when 2 or 3 or 4, I don’t really know. I just accept this.

I come from a different place where people are more direct, and not gentle and polite. A lot of people here have such a hard time being concerned with conflict and avoid it instead of being direct. I have been learning that I have to pay attention to more subtle communication.
 
TG: So, you lived on the East Coast a while?
I spent most of my adult life living in New York after spending many years traveling trying to decide where I felt most engaged. After traveling through almost every major city and continental state, I gravitated toward New York, short of other travels and visits.
 
TG: And now you’re in the Bay:
Just getting older, the Bay has been good, the pace here feels like it matches my needs and I feel like I make a lot healthier choices, I love the culture. The idea of living in another East Coast winter seems impossible now. 
 
TG: We’re delighted you’re here now. Congratulations on a fantastic installation!