animalistic fairy tale

last spring when i was grabbing brunch in venice beach, i stopped into altered spaces, a gallery along abbot kinney.  they feature various artists and craftsmen that they believe to be "visionaries in their fields, and originators in new eras in design."  it was the first i had seen of michele mikesell, who was currently showing chapter 3: disambiguate at altered spaces.  the alabama born, texas based painter, creates child-like, slightly disturbing, fairytale scapes filled with stylized animalistic forms with underlying human presence.  the surface, painted on baltic birch board, is subjected to a process of adding, scraping and sanding, which results in a contrast between smooth and worn.  this hazy dreamlike visual effect is reminiscent of surrealism, which along with expressionism and children's art, is michele's inspiration.  chapter 3 has since closed at altered spaces, but if you find yourself in atlanta, georgia, stop into the alan avery art company to check out chapter 4: 10.

images michele mikesell