After being recruited to participate in the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's 2020 fundraiser, In An Instant: Polaroids for The Aldrich, Michael has continued to employ instant photography in his work.
Using a Polaroid camera, Michael photographs flowers and foliage in his garden and then paints directly on top of the results. Related to Michael's previous paintings where he paints on top of images he appropriates from the worlds of art history and fashion, this new body of work continues to explore the relationship of the painted and printed image. This process also connects with Michael's earlier street works where he intervenes, or "takes over" advertising images in the vitrines of bus-stop shelters.
Please visit Paintings On Polaroids to see these new Polaroid paintings.
Since the pandemic has restricted Michael's access to his NYC studio, he has been using his home's dining room as a temporary studio and as thus, his new works, like the Polaroid paitings, are smaller in size. Michael has also been working on a series of small paintings in watercolor and acrylic.
Please visit Small Works on Paper to see these new paintings.