Mike Sweeney's paper works are woven from pre-printed papers that have been shredded mechanically or sliced apart by hand. He recombines them into patterns of text, color, image fragments, and the over-under texture of the weaving. The process of weaving both strengthens the paper and obscures the character of source material as each strip covers and reveals details in tiny segments.
With paper formed, Mike prints drawings from daily life and the media. He uses drypoint and block print plates to convey fragments of everyday life and the many identities, places, and objects that inform our conceptions of the world.
Mike believes that the act of looking (like the act of making) should be a thoughtful, reflective, and active. His images require time, and a mindfulness about the influence of context - of past ideas, present perceptions, and individual projections about possible futures.
Selected Exhibitions and Publications
EXHIBITIONS:
2023
Past to Present, Milestone Graphics w/ Proptogroup, New Haven, CT
Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, New York, New York
Eponymous exhibit at Sweet Harmony Cafe, Middletown First Friday Artsfest, Middletown, CT
Moments of Transformation, 11th Annual Juried Exhibition, Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory, Cleveland, OH
2022
Midsummer Festival, Lyme Academy of the Arts, Old Lyme, CT
Craft Nouveau, (juried exhibition), Blue Line Arts Gallery, Roseville, CA.
Archaeology (solo sculpture exhibit), West Hartford Public Library, West Hartford, CT
Human Faces & Figures (juried exhibition), Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2021
ImPRESSive (juried exhibition), Monotype Guild of New England at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI.
Cimarron National Works on Paper (juried exhibition), University of Oklahoma, Stillwater, OK.
Memorial.Monument.Movement (juried online exhibit), Art against Racism, NJ.
Variations (juried exhibition), Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead, MA
2020
8th Annual International Juried Print Exhibition, New Grounds Remarque Print Workshop,
Albuquerque, NM
36th Annual Juried Exhibit (juror’s award winner), National Collage Society, (presented online due to COVID-19 restrictions)
No Big Heads (juried self-portrait exhibition due to COVID-19 restrictions), Hugh McPeck Gallery, University of Alaska, Anchorage
2019
in the air... (installation of works from Cloud & Horizon), Pegasus Gallery, Middlesex
Community College, Middletown, CT
Press & Release, Chester Gallery of Art at New England College, Henniker, NH
2017
wood. / words., ArtWalk Exhibit with Rafael Oses, Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT
2016
All of Us or None, Traveling Exhibition for the American Friends Service Committee
Books of Things We Do Not Know - Saxton B Little Library, Columbia, CT
Fall Crafts @ Lyndhurst, Tarrytown, NY
Woven and Painted, Acton Library, Old Saybrook, CT
2015
Autumn Arts Festival, Madison, CT
Avon Arts and Crafts Fall Show, Avon, CT
Group Exhibition, Spectrum Art Gallery and Artisan Store, Centerbrook, CT
Embracing Our Differences, a group billboard exhibit, Sarasota Island Park & Bradenton Riverwalk, FL
Revelation/Revolution (group exhibition), Nails in the Wall Gallery, Metuchen, NJ
Nor'Easter Exhibition, New Britain Museum of Art, New Britain, CT
2014
1703 Miles and Back, Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library travelling National Tour
2013
Persistent Technology, exhibition of carved books, Saxton B. Little Library, Columbia, CT
2010
Nor'Easter Exhibition, New Britain Museum of Art, New Britain, CT
2006
Tuning Up, New Haven Symphony Orchestra benefit auction, New Haven, CT
PUBLICATIONS:
skateboard wheels (noise series), Pressing Matters. Issue 24, 2023
Rag & Pulp (paper arts book feature), Uppercase Publishing, 2023.
Look/Listen feature, Uppercase Magazine. Issue 56, 2023.
The Mandarin (print edition), Autumn 2022.
Pressing Matters Newsletter, September 2022.
Contemporary Collage Magazine, Issue 11 - Three Word Challenge, Straight Forwardly
Palimpsest, August 2022
Osmosis Press Featured Writing - Tortoise Maze (visual poem), November 2021
View from the Easel, Hyperallergic, 2021
#MGNECONNECTS (cover image), Monotype Guild of New England - dedicated to the art of the unique print, 2020
Paperology R.A.G., University of Montreal, Artefact Laboratory, 2020/2021
Michael Sweeney (feature/interview), LandEscape Now! 10th edition, September 2019
COMMISSIONS / PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
2023
Apple Hill at the White Memorial (woven paper print) (Collection of William McDonald, West Hartford, CT), 2023
Seaplane on the Connecticut River (woven paper print) (Collection of Tidewater Financial Services, West Hartford, CT), 2022
2020
and still, we have his bridge to cross again (preparatory drawing/print) (Collection of Jake Crandall, Montgomery, AL)
Felt Planets (set of 4 from universe of intersections) (Private collection, Germany)
2017
Books of Things We Do Not Know (Set of 4) (Collection of N. Stevens, Mansfield, CT)
Books of Things We Do Not Know (Set of 2) (Collection of J. Finnegan, West Hartford, CT)
2016
A Book of Things We Do Not Know, cedar, birds-eye maple, and chestnut (Stephanie Kallos, novelist and author of Language Arts, Seattle, WA)
Lotus, carved and painted mirror frame, oak (P. Robinson, Willimantic, CT)
2014
A book of things we don’t know, oak and pine (J. Neri, Colchester, CT)
A book of things we don’t know, oak and pine (K. Henson, Salem, CT)
2011
Carved Bird, mahogany perched bird (B. James, Salem, CT)
Rob’s Bird, African blackwood bird in flight (R. McLaughlin, East Lyme, CT)
2010
Fish, painted and woven paper (L. Champagne, Gales Ferry, CT)