Michael Kessler Paintings
American, b. 1954
Michael Kessler makes nature-based paintings that merge geometric elements with biomorphism. He began his art career as a landscape painter. While still an undergraduate at Kutztown University Kessler received a fellowship from the Whitney Museum of American Art to study and produce art in New York City at the Whitney Independent Study Program. During this period (1977–78) he met many important artists working in New York City including Richard Tuttle and Dorothea Rockburne. Influenced by the paintings of Brice Marden and Elizabeth Murray as well as the music of Phillip Glass and Steve Reich he began experimenting with his own work. His paintings soon became fully non-objective. Kessler's works are characterized by large fields of diaphanous color that are activated by organic linear structures that have been visually and physically woven into a grid structure, which consists of thick slabs of paint. These organic linear structures are overlapped and punctuated by dendritic growth patterns that suggest the bending of time and space. These visual elements as well as the color combinations have been carefully extracted from nature over time through prolonged observation and then reconstructed and orchestrated to transmit the dynamics of the Natural World. In this way Kessler synthesizes disparate elements into a new kind of harmony. In 1991 after returning from a year in Italy (via. the Rome Prize) Kessler became very involved with large-scale, site-specific installations. Gallery owner Chris Schmidt (Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia) worked with Kessler to initiate this project by obtaining a commission from Arlen Specter for Kessler's first sitespecific work which was installed in Senator Specter's office at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. In Chicago Kessler continued this pursuit with Gallery owner Paul Klein who also got involved with the placement of sitespecific works in his gallery Klein Art Works. In 1993-95 Kessler taught art at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. During the 90s Kessler worked with Brenda Kroos in Cleveland, Ohio. He had several exhibitions there and many of his paintings were placed in corporate and private collections in the Cleveland area.to
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Artist: Michael Kessler
White 1
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Michael Kessler often describes his process in musical terms, likening his approach to improvisational jazz, where themes and motifs emerge and evolve organically. His paintings are ...
Category
2010s Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
“Studio 1” Contemporary Gestural Purple, Blue, and Cream Abstract Painting
By Michael Kessler
Located in Houston, TX
Contemporary gestural purple, blue, and cream abstract painting by American artist Michael Kessler. The work consists of many very thin layers of paint that are built up to reveal th...
Category
1990s Abstract Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
CELESTERRIAL 4
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Kessler's use of geometry is not bound to rigid mathematical systems; rather, it serves as a vessel for expressive improvisation, much like a jazz composition. The geometric elements...
Category
2010s Abstract Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
CELESTERRIAL 3
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Kessler's use of geometry is not bound to rigid mathematical systems; rather, it serves as a vessel for expressive improvisation, much like a jazz composition. The geometric elements...
Category
2010s Abstract Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
Untitled
By Michael Kessler
Located in Buffalo, NY
Kessler makes nature-based paintings that merge geometric elements with biomorphism. He began his art career as a landscape painter. While still an undergraduate at Kutztown Universi...
Category
1980s Abstract Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Oil, Paper, Wood
Emerald Pools (21)
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Michael Kessler makes nature-based paintings that merge geometric elements with biomorphism. He began his art career as a landscape painter. While an undergraduate at Kutztown University Kessler received a fellowship from the Whitney Museum of American Art to study and produce art in New York City at the Whitney Independent Study Program. Michael Kessler’s work explores the continuum between gesture and geometry. Each work consists of as many as 50 micro-thin layers of translucent and transparent acrylic. Biomorphic tendrils branch to and fro, while arcs of line and color slip over and under matrices, balancing nature’s sinuous curves with the mindfulness of structure. He likens the gestural freedom in his works to a kind of painterly “tai chi” – a...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Jillidu
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Michael Kessler makes nature-based paintings that merge geometric elements with biomorphism. He began his art career as a landscape painter. While an undergraduate at Kutztown University Kessler received a fellowship from the Whitney Museum of American Art to study and produce art in New York City at the Whitney Independent Study Program. Michael Kessler’s work explores the continuum between gesture and geometry. Each work consists of as many as 50 micro-thin layers of translucent and transparent acrylic. Biomorphic tendrils branch to and fro, while arcs of line and color slip over and under matrices, balancing nature’s sinuous curves with the mindfulness of structure. He likens the gestural freedom in his works to a kind of painterly “tai chi” – a...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
MEDIANIC
By Michael Kessler
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Michael Kessler’s work explores the continuum between gesture and geometry. Each work consists of as many as 50 micro-thin layers of translucent and transparent acrylic. Biomorphic tendrils branch to and fro, while arcs of line and color slip over and under matrices, balancing nature’s sinuous curves with the mindfulness of structure. He likens the gestural freedom in his works to a kind of painterly “tai chi” – a...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Birchonapsen
By Michael Kessler
Located in New Orleans, LA
Acrylic on canvas
Category
2010s Abstract Michael Kessler Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Grill 11
By Michael Kessler
Located in New Orleans, LA
Acrylic on panel.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Michael Kessler Paintings
Price Upon Request
Treeclips 14
By Michael Kessler
Located in New Orleans, LA
Acrylic on panel.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Michael Kessler Paintings
Price Upon Request
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Michael Kessler paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Michael Kessler paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of red and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Michael Kessler in paint, acrylic paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Michael Kessler paintings, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Susan Sharp, Sarah Winkler, and Michael Marlowe. Michael Kessler paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,200 and tops out at $15,000, while the average work can sell for $8,500.