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 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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
2010 - "Rest in Space" Group Exhibition, Beep Beep Gallery, Atlanta, GA.
2010 - Art Show at Little Five Points Music Center, Atlanta, GA.
2010 - Grant Award for Public Art Installation with Blacki Migiliozzi, Pattie Acevedo, and Elizabeth Oscar Maynard on Beltline Rd, Atlanta, GA.
2010 - "Lazerbeam Kitty" - Live Painting Performance, Atlanta, GA.
2010 - "Dodekapus Collective Launch Event" - exhibition and live paint performance
2010 - "Us Versus Superegos" - Group Art Exhibition, Atlanta, GA.
2010 - Present - Bass guitar player for the band 'Omelet" in Atlanta, GA.
2010 - Present - Bass guitar player for the band 'Snake, Shark, and the Broken Heart" in Atlanta, GA.
2010 - Present - Bass guitar player for the band 'Cellray Moxies" in Atlanta, GA.
2009 - Piano composition and performance for a dance performance called "Dollhouse", in the Dance Truck in the annual festival Le Flash, Atlanta, GA
2009 – 2010 - Bass guitar player for the band 'The Buffalo Bangers" in Atlanta, GA.
2009 - Present White Garage Band. Synth, bass, & drums, Troy, OH.
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