Michael Haight

Growing up in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, Michael Haight studied music and art from an early age, and was taught how to paint by his father. In undergrad at University of California Riverside, the artist studied fiction, poetry, book arts and Japanese. After receiving a BA in Creative Writing, he worked in the special collections department designing printing and binding chapbooks and broadsides for poets using the library’s collection of antique printing press. It was there he decided to pursue fine art.

Haight’s body of work is a product of his diverse interest and practices. His study of the Japanese language in college led to an interest in Eastern art histories, while his years of writing music and stories have all coincided to produce an aesthetic that is whimsical, ethereal and surreal.

Michael studied at Claremont Graduate University under the tutelage of Rachel Lachowicz, David Amico, John Millei and Michael Brewster. It was during this time that he began to develop an interest in modes of enlightenment which would later develop into examinations of the artist’s role in attempting and failing enlightenment while expounding upon those experiences had by others. These themes were predominantly explored through film and performance work throughout his graduate study and weren’t captured on canvas until after he began studying Buddhism in 2014 and reconnected with his studio practice after a 5 year hiatus writing, and teaching in Seoul, South Korea and Irvine, California.

He has collaborated to create Fluxus-inspired happenings like 2015’s Rabbit Hole DTLA, and 2016’s Being Present Mafia and Group-a-Therapists.

Michael will hold a solo exhibition at One Trick Pony Gallery in Los Angeles in January of 2022. He will also be included in a three-person exhibition at G/Art/En Gallery in Como Italy in April 2022.