I am a figurative artist, primarily working in the disciplines of painting, drawing, and various printmaking media. I embrace artmaking as an applied contemplation of human existence that allows for constant inner searching. The creative act, as well as its marked outcome, provides provocative evidence of my life, spiritually and physically. Through human and, at times, anthropomorphic figuration, I seek to portray the ever-elusive psyche and the material body engaged in varying degrees of sensual/spiritual desire, consummation, and expenditure. The philosophies, mythologies, religions, and sociologies of the past and present constantly inspire me. More specifically, the occult sciences of alchemy and magic, religious mysticism, and eroticism serve as my main sources of research. Essentially, I personalize these various motifs and ideas that I feel affinity with by incorporating them with my own reality.
I was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1968. During my childhood I lived in various small towns and cities in the mid-western states of South Dakota, Iowa, and North Dakota. I earned my BFA in Printmaking from the University of South Dakota in 1991. After moving to Boston, MA in 1992, I attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts part-time for about three years. Ultimately, I earned my MFA in Painting and Printmaking at Massachusetts College of Art, Boston in 1998. I have taught courses as an adjunct professor at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA, and Massachusetts College of Art. Courses have included printmaking, drawing, and art history. I currently teach screenprinting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
I have exhibited nationally and internationally. Some recent places where I have participated in group exhibitions include: Currier Art Museum in Manchester, NH ('09-'10), New Bedford Art Museum in New Bedford, MA ('10), New Art Center in Newtonville, MA ('09), Pleiades Gallery in New York, NY ('05), the Ernest G. Welch Art Gallery in Atlanta, GA ('06), Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland ('06), and Crowell's Fine Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA ('10). I have also had solo exhibitions at Colo Colo Gallery in New Bedford, MA ('09, '11) and the Patty DeLuca Gallery in Provincetown, MA ('11).
I have been a visiting artist/lecturer at the Currier Museum Art Center, Manchester, NH ('09), University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA ('07), Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA ('08), and Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA ('06).
I presently live and maintain a studio in New Bedford, Massachusetts with my wife, Patricia Kellogg.
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All content © 2011 Michael W. Hecht. New Bedford, MA.