Michael Viola, Brooklyn, NYC
Member Since September 2012
Artist Statement As an empathic artist, I experience the world intuitively. Different locations and different populations are characterized by a particular resonant frequency. This frequency speaks to the particular consciousness of that space. This relates to the beliefs, customs, and values that are held in their collective experiences, Carl Jung coined this the collective unconscious. My works are intuitive, and meditative. As an empath, I assimilate the unseen that surrounds me, then interpret the energy visually. My work is a psychic depiction of my immediate environment, the greater cosmos, and my unique perspective within these intertwining and interdependent forces. My art is spiritual and heart based, emotionally intense, reflecting the truth and intuitive heart connection which guides my life. I care about the Earth, I care about community, sustainability, and the uniting of peoples by respecting the God spark in all of us.
My background is in shamanism and psychotherapy which I studied in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My journey has brought me through the dry and dutiful corporate experience, to the red earth of New Mexico and the Amazonian jungle where I was baptized in plant spirit medicine. All of these experiences have brought me to the empathic artist I am today. Today I continue my studies in herbalism and my people studies working in restaurants. I am Colombian/Italian, American and gay. I live and work in Brooklyn, NYC.