Mikhail
Ally is a multi-disciplined painter and musician coming from a family
of artists and musicians. Mikhail grew up in Valdosta, Georgia. As a
homeschooler, he was given the opportunity to pursue his interests
primarily in music and painting, among other art forms like animation,
web design, film and photography. Mikhail's
family has influenced him most in his art. Another big influence on
Mikhail's painting is music. In addition to composing, he is proficient
on piano, drums, bass, guitar, and computer sequencing. Mikhail has
played in several bands and has collaborated with multiple other
musicians, including the children of the kindergarden after school
program at the Atlanta International School. After working at the
school for over a year, he is now exclusively pursuing artistic,
musical, dance-performance and educational projects. Mikhail lives at
The Bighouse, an artist collective in midtown, Atlanta. ARTISTS STATEMENT
“I don't
know what to paint, ever. All I can do is trust myself as a painter. I
will never understand my work as a singular idea or form. Through the
painting process, I am developing a history within the work. The
individual marks, colors and images are all made with different
intention, creating dynamic and almost contradicting yet honest work. A
history of thought and action gives the piece depth, visible through
transparent marks and colors, textural marks and the influence of one
action to the next. A painting is never finished, it is just continued
on another surface.”
EXHIBITIONS & EXPERIENCE Solo Exhibition “Recent Paintings and Tribute to Sung Sook Lee” at Dannemans January – March 2010 Group Exhibition “Femme Fatale/Film Noir” at Wonderroot February – March 2010 Solo Exhibition at Clove Salon November 2009 – March 2010 Gallery Representation at City Market Gallery, Valdosta, GA 2007 - present Luna Ristorante/Vito's, Valdosta, GA 2008 - present The Big House, Atlanta, GA 2009 The Fish Market, Atlanta, GA 2009 MUSIC PERFORMANCE & PROJECTS 2009
- Piano composition and performance for a dance performance called
"Dollhouse", in the Dance Truck in the annual festival Le Flash,
Atlanta, GA 2009 – Present - Bass guitar player for the band 'The Buffalo Bangers" in Atlanta, GA. 2009 - White Garage Band. Synth, bass, & drums 2008
– 2009 - Counting and rhythm class lessons in the Atlanta International
School after school program. The collaboration on a sequencing/rhythm
piece fused the recording in class with Mikhail's computer sequencing.
He is presently developing the project into a full curriculum. http://www.archive.org/details/KaleidoscopicRhythmsACollaborationWithChildren 2008
- Present - "Jesus Riding a Dinosaur", a free form two piece band
composed of Mikhail on drums with jazz guitarist Zane Ally. 2008
- 2010 - Mikhail played drums in a two piece band with Ian May on
guitar, playing with a bass string, piano string and alternate tuning
to a unique sound. They playfully experiment with song structure,
syncopation and time signatures. It started as a joke band that
developed into something really unique. They have played all around
Georgia in various venues, house shows and even a church sanctuary. 2007 Dance performance for "One Arm Manny and the Ultimate Retard", in Valdosta, GA. 2006
- 2008 - Ann Street House, Valdosta, GA. - performance of experimental,
abstract, computer sequenced and computer generated sound improvisation
shows playing through a computer plugged into a bass amplifier with
various other instruments and musicians coming in and out of the piece. 2005 - Assisted artist Jan Tomlinson Master in the installation of her Solo Exhibition at Valdosta State University Gallery