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MICHELLE
I was born in Bari, Italy in 1982 and spent my childhood living most of each year in New York City and every holiday and summer in Italy. My formative years were in Chicago, where I now currently work and reside in the West Town neighborhood with my two children. The extensive traveling done as a child and the exposure I had to art all over Europe serves as the core for my inspiration. Early on I became enthralled by the metaphors and allegories of the Bible as well as the powerful narratives of Greek and Roman Mythology, specifically the epic poems of Homer and Vergil. While I draw heavily on these ancient themes, they are solely departures and serve as opportunities to alter narratives, revise meaning, and change outcomes. These investigations into the past are brought to the foreground with attention to the current world we live in. I believe this allows the viewer to draw connections from the familiarity of the ancient and classic aesthetic to current, relevant, and personal matters. Some issues explored in my work include social justice, female empowerment, and examinations of a modern collective anxiety. My research is constant and I have found that everything I do in daily life seems to connect me back to my work. For me making art is about beginning something, conceiving the psyche of the piece, and then getting lost in the process. This is what makes painting terrifying and most satisfying all at once; I simply cannot live without it. |
ORIGINAL FINE ART BY MICHELLE