Michael DiRisio has served as the Artistic Director of Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre and the Curatorial Assistant and Collections Archivist at Blackwood Gallery at the University of Toronto Mississauga. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Windsor and is currently completing a Juris Doctor at Western University, where he is the Information Officer for the Labour and Employment Law Society and a Staff Editor for the Western Journal of Legal Studies.
In 2018 he co-founded and co-directed Art & Social Strata: Conference + Artist Projects with Teresa Carlesimo, which addressed the formal and ethical dimensions of participatory art practices. His writing has appeared in Art Papers, Afterimage Journal, C Magazine, BlackFlash, and Public Journal, among others, with recent feature essays in Espace and Esse Magazine.
He has been an artist-in-residence in Castellví de la Marca, Spain and Reykjavik, Iceland. His work has appeared in exhibitions at Museum London, Artcite, Eyelevel Gallery, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and Rodman Hall Art Centre.
Contact: mike.dirisio (at) gmail (dot) com
Espace Art Actuel, Issue 130, 2022
— In "We are a galaxy" I reflect on recent work by Hito Steyerl, Mika Rottenberg, and Black Quantum Futurism. I pay particular attention to the ways in which they employ space iconography in their often immersive installations.
ESSE Magazine, Issue 103, Fall 2021
— I am pleased to have a feature essay titled "The Social Constellation of the Stadium" in the current issue of Esse, where I reflect on ways in which the stadium is represented in contemporary art as a space that houses a fractured and fragmented crowd.
SDUK 06: FORGING, September 2019
— For my article Demon Copper I explore the social and material history of copper extraction, and reflect on the tension inherent in its use as a source of renewable energy.
Writing
The Social Constellation of the Stadium, Esse Magazine, Issue 103, Fall 2021
Chemical Compounds, Espace Magazine, Issue 120, Fall 2018
Administrative Logics in the Work of Jo-Anne Balcaen and Anne-Marie Proulx, Esse Magazine, Issue 94, Fall 2018
Assembling the Post-Fordist Social Factory, Espace Magazine, Issue 116, Spring 2017
Review of Troubler la fête, rallumer notre joie/To Spoil the Party, To Set Our Joy Ablaze (2016) and Survey for Cultural Workers/Questionnaire pour travailleurs culturels (2015), Journal of Curatorial Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2018
Becoming Geologic, BlackFlash Magazine, Issue 34.3, Spring 2017 (with Teresa Carlesimo)
Collective Projections, ETC Media, Issue 106, 2016
Value and Obsolescence: Penelope Umbrico's Haunted Screens, BlackFlash Magazine, Issue 33.1, Winter 2016
Circulation and Contradiction in Adrian Blackwell's Furnishing Positions, Esse, Issue 84, 2015
Dylan Miner at Martha Street Studio, Breach Magazine, Issue 2, September 2015
Editorial
Western Journal of Legal Studies, Vol 13 No 1 (2022) (Staff Editor)
Syphon, Issue 4.0, Fall 2017 (Co-Editor with Genevieve Flavelle)
Syphon, Issue 3.4, Spring 2017 (Editor)
Syphon, Issue 3.3, Fall 2016 (Co-Editor with Jon Lockyer)
Syphon, Issue 3.2, Spring 2016 (Editor)
Education
Juris Doctor Candidate, Western University (expected 2023)
Master of Fine Arts, University of Windsor, 2013
Bachelor of Arts, Visual Arts and Philosophy (Honours), Brock University, 2010
Experience
Staff Editor, Western Journal of Legal Studies, 2021-present
Curatorial Assistant and Collections Archivist, Blackwood Gallery, 2018-present
Board of Directors, Factory Media Centre, 2019-present
Artistic Director, Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, 2015-2018
Board of Directors, ARCCO, 2018-2019
Co-Director, Art & Social Strata Conference + Artist Projects, 2017
Advertising Sales, C Magazine, 2014-18
Digital Projects Coordinator, C Magazine, 2013-14
Published Writing (selected)
(Forthcoming) “We are a galaxy: Recent Work by Hito Steyerl, Mika Rottenberg, and Black Quantum Futurism,” Espace Art Actuel, Issue 130
“The Social Constellation of the Stadium,” Esse Magazine, Issue 103
2018
"Administrative Logics in the Work of Jo-Anne Balcaen and Anne-Marie Proulx," esse arts + opinions, Issue 94 (Feature Essay)
"Chemical Compounds," Espace, Issue 120 (Feature Essay)
"Review of Troubler la fête, rallumer notre joie/To Spoil the Party, To Set Our Joy Ablaze (2016) and Survey for Cultural Workers/Questionnaire pour travailleurs culturels (2015)," Journal of Curatorial Studies (Review)
2017
"Becoming Geologic: Representations of Stones in Contemporary Art," BlackFlash Magazine, 34.3 (co-authored with Teresa Carlesimo) (Feature Essay)
2016
"Counterpoint: Hyang Cho," Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre (Exhibition Essay)
Grants, Awards and Residencies
Artist-in-Residence, _Hannacc, Barcelona, Spain, 2018
Artist-in-Residence, Sím (Samband íslenskra myndlistarmanna / Association of Icelandic Artists), Reykjavik, Iceland, 2017
Exhibition Assistance, Ontario Arts Council, 2012, 2015, 2017
Visual Arts Projects Grant, Ontario Arts Council, 2016
1W3KND: Social Practice and Collaboration Residency, Broken City Lab, 2013
Conference Travel Grant, University of Windsor, 2013
Entrance Scholarship, University of Windsor, 2011
Entrepreneurial Grant, Ministry of Economic Development, Ontario, 2011
Studio Award, Rodman Hall Art Centre, 2010
Returning Scholars Award, Brock University, 2009