MICHELLE MACKEY
Lives and Works in Brooklyn, NY and in Dallas, Tx
she paints and contributes writing for artcritical.com
Michelle Mackey’s paintings explore time and memory through abstracted architectural imagery. She references places that contain ghosts of a buried past, whether political or folkloric - these places house collective memory. Using building materials like joint compound and polyurethane as her medium, Mackey builds and sands multiple layers allowing unexpected forms to emerge. Her shadowy scenes suggest rooms and tunnels from which a subtle light radiates. This light glows almost fluorescent in the midst of darker blacks and browns suggesting a deeper space beyond any interior. Inhabiting a gap between abstraction and representation, Mackey’s paintings of abandoned spaces are hauntingly evocative and suggestive of encapsulated moments.
The artist received an M.F.A. from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY (1999) and a B.A. from Furman University, Greenville, SC (1997). She has studied in Cortona, Italy and Taos, NM for extended periods, and has been a resident at the Vermont Studio Center and 100W Corsicana, Tx. Throughout the last decade Mackey has had solo exhibitions in Berlin and New York City, and participated in group exhibitions in Dallas, Marfa, Brooklyn, and New York City.
Mackey lives and works in both Brooklyn, NY and Dallas, TX.