I recently had a contest in my Emotive Art group titled Art That Illustrates Appreciation. It was up to the artist to submit a piece that was voted on by Fine Art America members. Michael Durst won first place with his work, I Love You Darling!
I love the colors used in this piece and the feeling of love and appreciation. It really does capture the essence of what I was looking for in the contest.
I asked Michael to send me a biography. He is a very interesting artist indeed! Please find it below:
According to the Ico Gallery in New York’s Chelsea district, “Dr. Michael Durst is one of the most exciting South African artists to have exhibited in New York." Originally from the U.S. he has been living and painting in Cape Town for over 20 years. As a psychologist, Dr. Dust’s paintings create not only beauty for the beholder, but also a state of relaxation and healing. His work combines impressionism with fractal art, evoking an emotional link to the heart-thus the name he likes to call his art: Heartscapes.
Star Light Star Bright available here.
His exhibitions in New York, Chicago, Cape Town, the Netherlands and India have received rave reviews and gained Dr. Durst international recognition.
He loves to create art in two very different mediums: Impressionism and Fractal Art. His impressionistic work of the beauty of Cape Town--especially the Waterfront, Hout Bay, Table Mountain, ocean views, spring flowers, and the vineyards-- are breath-taking.
Durst's Fractal Art is based on mathematical formulas that produce order out of a world of chaos. What is created when chaos shifts to order, are beautiful “fractals” that have the ability to be explored as separate visual universes. Durst uses texture, pattern and colour to reveal the infinite visual depth and immense detail, inviting the viewer to plunge into an imaginary world of striking beauty. It seems that behind each curve and ripple lies a surprise, just waiting to be discovered.
In the last year, Dr. Durst has combined the Fractal art with painted images to create mixed-media "visions" of striking beauty. These works break down our sense of identity with intellect and form, and reconnect us to the sacred whole to which we all belong. He typically uses many different fractal sets and images, changing the light source, colour and perspective and then layers them into complex composite designs.
Two Hearts, One Soul available here.
Dr Durst is one of the best known artists on Fine Art America, having over 475,000 hits on his site and winning countless “First Place” awards in online exhibitions, competing with hundreds and in some cases, thousands of artists from all over the world. He has been named one of the "Impressionists of the 21st Century" and was voted First Runner Up in the ARTIST OF THE YEAR FOR 2018 by his fellow professional artists and international gallery owners.
He opened the DR DURST GALLERY OF ART AND ANTIQUES at 58 Loop Street, on the corner of Loop Street and Castle Street in Cape Town. The Gallery is located on the Second Floor on the Shark and Safari Tours on the corner of Loop Street and Castle Street.
If you would like to connect with Dr. Durst, you can find his website here. He can also be found on Facebook here.