michael smith at art galleria emi fontana, milan

portrait of michael smith image © designboom

american performance artist michael smith held a solo show at galleria emi fontana in milan, italy on 17th of january, 2009. at the opening, he presented his alter ego called mike, a character of uncertain age whose acts show the struggle of becoming an adult. the whole spectrum of the media in which his mike character takes part were shown. displayed in the show were installations, drawings, photography and smith’s audio works.

smith performed mike and his first character baby ikki, an oversized infant in diapers, hat and sunglasses, conceived as a mute, ambiguous character fixed neither by age nor gender; an archetype with an unclear mission, onto which spectators project their own interpretation.

michael smith’s ‘playground’ in 2003 was his first solo show in italy at galleria emi fontana. and it was a collaborative exhibition with seth price.

smith performing mike, character he has performed since the early ’80s. in the artist’s words, "mike is a vehicle, kind of an empty shell." image © designboom

collections of credit cards from smith’s life. image © designboom

smith was able to obtain numerous credit cards over the years. cards are from various companies, some of which no longer exist. all were easy to obtain. perhaps this is a reflection of the current economic situation.

details image © designboom

the character of mike poses with groups of his students image © designboom

smith performing baby ikki image © designboom

more: www.galleriaemifontana.com