My name is Michael Indorato. I’m a prolific, undiscovered painter and former All-State and All-American collegiate athlete. I was born and raised in northern New Jersey, graduated from high school in 1988, then attended community college for one year where I placed 6th in the junior college national wrestling tournament. I transferred to Trenton State College, now the College of New Jersey, where I also wrestled and majored in advertising design. I moved to southern California in 1994 to try to “find myself” and after two years on the west coast, I moved back to New Jersey with a new passion. I had discovered my ability to create meaningful art. I’ve always been creative, even as a child, so I transferred that creativity to the sport of wrestling, then finally to my paintings.

In my prime I seemed to takedown my opponents with confidence, strength and finesse. I had a unique ability to use their strength and force against them, reacting with counter balance to every movement. The better my opponent was, the more I felt a sense of poetry in motion or grace under pressure. It was as if we were in a finely orchestrated dance, when in reality we were two souls entwined in a struggle of will to dominate and win. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was actually creating art with motion. When people applauded I knew I was causing them to feel something, and that was very powerful for me.

I was scared and exhilarated at the same time. Each time the whistle blew I had to look deep inside myself, to see what I was really made of. I still remember the incredible sense of accomplishment I felt from working so hard toward my goals and achieving them; facing my fears and overcoming them; getting my hand raised and hearing the roaring crowd. But I also remember the pain of losing miserably in the state finals my senior year of high school, a match that will forever haunt me.

Many years have passed since that day at Jadwin Gym in Princeton NJ and now I have discovered a new arena for my talents to shine.

I am a self-taught artist/painter and feel the relentless need to hear the crowd again and express myself in a theatrical and visual way. I still get the feelings of fear and exhilaration, and a great sense of accomplishment when I “conquer” a canvas. Some of my best paintings seem to flow from my paintbrush almost effortlessly and others I have to work and continue to rework.

For years I saw nothing but the evil in the world (View my Manifesto). I felt that I needed to say something about what I saw happening, so I created some of my most compelling religious, political and spiritual paintings during that time. As time passed I realized that the world needed to see what I had created with my mind and my hands. In these days of uncertainty I believe that my earlier works can now be appreciated and better understood.

I offer you an opportunity to own a part of my struggle. All of my paintings contain a piece of my soul and for many years I was unwilling to part with them. My true struggle has never been about my ability to create, but the inspiration that forces me to do so. Without inspiration, I simply don’t paint.

At times it’s joy that inspires me, or the beauty that I see in life, people and nature. But most of my inspiration has come from sorrow and a deep feeling of anxiety toward the state of our nation and the world. Every painting is a wrestling match, some flow with beauty and grace and others are an ugly reflection of a pessimistic point of view, uncertain of the past, present or future.

In my youth I wrestled my most feared opponent in the state finals, now I wrestle him on the canvas… that opponent is and always has been myself.

I hope you enjoy my online galleries

Michael Indorato

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