Part of Alserkal Art Week: A Wild Stitch
Michael Sailstorfer’s fourth solo exhibition brings together three series exploring a theme central to his practice: energy. As a source, a transmitter, and a force that fuels life, energy takes on new material and conceptual forms in his work.
In Air Electric, Sailstorfer experiments with electricity as a painting medium. A fine copper fabric stretched over a wooden frame becomes his canvas, while a power supply directs current through it. Using a stainless-steel rod with a fleece-covered tip dipped in silver electrolyte, he closes the circuit—allowing silver ions to fuse with the copper surface. The result is an abstract electric landscape of pale blue cloud formations against a golden sky. Shapes emerge and dissolve, hinting at something ancient yet open to interpretation.
Sailstorfer’s works tap into the transformative potential of industrial materials, revealing layers of time and energy embedded within them.