Michael Amici, Jr. turned himself into a porcupine by drawing quills on his entire body at age 4, then it was a gum, hair, toothpick dodecahedron sculpture on the side of his mother’s head. A canvas for Michael could be a wall or bed sheet, a safety helmet or a microwave oven. What is shown here at the Kimball Art Center are works that made it onto paper or canvas, some collage, some acrylic, some walnut and India ink, some resin and some pieces with as much art on the back as on the front.

Michael lived in Park City from age 3 on. He spent some time in public school, private school and homeschool. He earned his GED and attended several quarters at the University of Utah. Michael could talk to you about anything from the intricacies of fences to Russian literature; 1980’s computer to the Dokdo Islands, or the connection between Malthus, television and inertial humanity. Michael had an understanding of all things hidden and a true sense of the unobserved. He was able to quantify the mystic, the down to earth and the impractical and synthesize them into a cohesive work.

When questioning Michael about what his art pieces were all about, the persistent observer would ask, are they CITIES or CIRCUITS or something microscopic like CILIA? Michael would just smile at you quixotically and keep on drawing.