About
Michael Bendure
Michael Bendure is an artist in Norman, Okla., who specializes in colorful abstract paintings of all sizes. He explores the intersections of color upon color and color upon texture to evoke optimism and emotion. His evolving, process-driven, colorful works are designed to inspire joy, energy, and life. Recently, Michael began experimenting with non-traditional materials, such as found objects, particle- and chipboards, and leftover construction site items. In 2024, Michael is exploring mental health advocacy through the concept of deconstruction/reconstruction. Using unconventional wood scraps, he combines sand with paint to create gritty, colorful landscapes, then cuts them apart and reattaches them in new, random ways with small, metal hinges. The results are flexible, almost sculpture-like pieces that move and flow, reflecting how we can be broken apart and put back together through life's difficult challenges. And though we are reassembled in new, imperfect ways, the results can still be beautiful and renewing.
Since his artistic debut in 2021, Michael has shown works in numerous group and solo shows, including the Gaylord-Pickens Museum, Norman’s Second Friday Art Walk, venues in Oklahoma City's Plaza District, Oklahoma City University's Norick Art Center, and the Oklahoma Art Guild Small Works Show. In 2024, Michael is displaying artwork each month at VIBES, downtown Edmond's first Thursday art walk, April through October.
His summer 2023 series, The Natural Grain, explored the notion of minimalism through 28 limited-color works on wood panels. Since 2022, he has displayed numerous works at Waters Edge Winery in Moore, and a rotating selection of his works has been on permanent display in the Serenity Mental Health Group’s offices in north Norman since spring 2021. In fall, 2023, a three-month, solo exhibition titled Disruptions! opened at the offices of IT business amshot in Oklahoma City. Summer 2023 brought Michael's museum debut with a group exhibition called Quality of Light at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Early 2023 shows included group exhibitions at J-Byrd Home Boutique, The Depot, and Gallery 123 in Norman. Fall 2022 shows included an installation at Michelangelo's Coffee & Wine Bar, as part of Norman's 2nd Friday Art Walks from November to January, 2023, a New in Norman pop-up gallery, a group show at DNA Galleries, and the Orange Buddha Gallery in Oklahoma City. Michael sold numerous works during the 2022 Downtown Edmond Arts Festival, as well as during a large, month-long art show at KAsa de Arte inside Kirk Angel Real Estate Professionals in Oklahoma City in June. A selection of his works also was on display for a year at Magoo's Attic in the Plaza District in OKC. Over the past two years, he also has sold numerous commissioned works for clients. He was invited to present as a guest artist during the 2022 Oklahomans for the Arts’ Arts and Culture Day at the State Capitol, and his painting, The Journey, received a first-place award during the 2021 University of Oklahoma Staff Week Art Show. He is a member of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the Oklahoma Art Guild and is part of the growing global movement of contemporary non-representational painters.
Michael also is a musician in numerous local bands Eventides, Heartbreak Rodeo, and The Whiskey Gingers. He is the host of KGOU radio’s weekly instrumental funk program, Tonic: The Funky Groove Show, as well as the host of the interview-based podcast, 40 Minutes of Funk. His love of funk music has spread into his paintings, some of which are part of an expanding body of works called Funk Art that are inspired by the feelings and lyrics of funk music (Prince and Parliament Funkadelic, for example). Formerly a public relations professional for 15 years in academia, Michael retired from public relations and chose to pursue his funk and art outlets full-time in the fall of 2021.
His artistic goals include growing a network of potential collectors and collaborators, including more corporate and local business settings, especially where larger paintings can be developed and displayed.
Michael’s artwork can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
Commissions by size and color are available upon request.