David Michalek is an artist who takes the concept and techniques of portraiture as the starting points for the creation of his works, on both a large and small-scale, in a range of mediums. His focus over the past ten years has been closely tied to his interest in relational aesthetics—specifically using performative and interactive techniques—storytelling, dialogue, movement—relying on the input and responses of others—subjects, collaborators, and audience—as integral to both the creation and the experience of his art. He has been drawn in particular to projects that bring together diverse groups of people in settings ranging from galleries to public spaces, churches and community organizations to health-care facilities.
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Goldenly (2008)
Goldenly is a video art installation using kaleidoscope of images that capture the precision and artistry of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Slow Dancing (2007)
Slow Dancing is a series of 43 larger-than-life, hyper-slow-motion video portraits of dancers and choreographers from around the world, displayed on multiple screens.

The Joban Fugue (2007)
The Joban Fugue, a multi-disciplinary performance, exists as a fusion of silent film and modern sacred music based on the book of Job.

The Quarter Things of Spring (2006)
Springtime photographs of blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and Central Park.


Kafka Fragments (2005)
Photographic sequences for an hour-long setting of aphoristic lines drawn from the writer's letters and diaries. Composed for solo soprano and violin by the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag.

14 Stations (2004)
This project is modeled on the traditional devotional, The Stations of the Cross. Members of the group enacted each Station, with a different man or woman assuming the role of the Christ figure in each.

Becky (2002)
A multimedia (sculpture, photography, video and sound) installation of the detailed reconstruction of Becky Silverstein's apartment and her writings.

Salon K. (2000)
The work is an attempt to seriously document the men and women of the S&M sex trade while striking a delicate balance between pornography and documentation.

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