Magrath
Sculpture
Bio
Michael Magrath was born at Williams Air force Base in Chandler Arizona in 1961. Though he began drawing at an early age, he did not come upon figure sculpture until his early thirties. He has since dedicated his life to the betterment of this craft and the furtherance of sculpture as a form. Primarily self taught, he has nonetheless studied and taught in a number of rich sculptural environments, including Hipbone Studio in Portland, The Seattle Academy of Art, and the Graduate Sculpture Program at the University of Washington. In addition, he spent a year studying in in Rome and at the Florence Academy of Art. He was a resident artist and instructor at the Art Academy of London. Since receiving his MFA in 2004, Magrath has been teaching figure sculpture and drawing at the Gage Academy in Seattle. He is currently a full time instructor in Sculpture/Public Art at the University of Washington.
Reflecting a decade spent in the building trades as a carpenter, painter, foundryman, and five years Shop Technician for the Art Department at Reed College, he brings a craftsman's approach to his work. Regardless, his interest in the figure is ultimately lyrical in nature. Having received an undergraduate degree from Reed College in Literature and History which focused on the nature and development of myth in human societies, Magrath steers toward the symbolic in his work. Of no particular denomination of religious faith, Magrath attempts to excavate, understand, and depict the universal truths that lie at the core of religious and human experience.