The Artistic Evolution of Michael Kessler

Michael Kessler is an American painter whose creative journey began with landscape painting. During his undergraduate years at Kutztown University, he was awarded a fellowship from the Whitney Museum of American Art to study and produce art in New York City through the Whitney Independent Study Program. This period allowed him to encounter various artists working in New York City. His work eventually transitioned into a fully non-objective style.

Kessler's paintings are characterized by large fields of diaphanous color. These colors are activated by organic linear structures that are visually and physically woven into a grid structure composed of thick slabs of paint. These organic linear structures are overlapped and punctuated by dendritic growth patterns. Through prolonged observation, Kessler extracts color combinations and visual elements from nature, reconstructing them to transmit the dynamics of the natural world and synthesize disparate elements into a new kind of harmony.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Since 1983, Kessler's paintings have been featured in over two hundred exhibitions across the United States and Europe. His work has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions, including five shows at the Jack Tilton Gallery in New York City and a solo exhibition at the Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado. Other exhibition venues have included Gallery Bienvenu in New Orleans, Louisiana; Madison Gallery in La Jolla, California; Paia Contemporary Gallery in Maui, Hawaii; Schmidt Dean Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lanoue Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts; Sense Fine Art in Menlo Park, California; Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and the Castellani Art Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.

Kessler's accolades include several prestigious honors:

His paintings are held in 25 museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles, and the New Museum in New York City. Additionally, Kessler has been involved in large-scale, site-specific installations, including a commission for Senator Arlen Specter's office in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.