Michael Kessler was born in 1954 in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He received a B.F.A. degree from Kutztown University. He currently lives and works in New Mexico. Please contact the gallery for larger scaled-work, installations, and commissions.
SELECT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA
Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, Austin, TX
Broad Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, NY
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA.
Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA.
Fine Arts Gallery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Flint Institute of the Arts, Flint, MI
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN.
Honolulu Academy of the Arts, Honolulu, HA
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Naples Museum of Art, Naples, Fl.
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY.
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL
Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
AWARDS / FELLOWSHIPS
Rome Prize, Painting, American Academy in Rome , 1990
Pollock/Krasner Award, Painting, New York, New York , 1992
Whitney Independent Study Program, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York , 1977
Awards in the Visual Arts-Five, Grant in Painting, South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art, 1985
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Grant in Painting , 1983
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008
George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
Blink Gallery, Boulder, Colorado
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, Illinios
Schmidt Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Renee George Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
2007
Gallery Bienvenu, New Orleans, Louisana
Sense Gallery, Menlo Park, California.
Art Now Gallery, Gothenberg, Sweden
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Lanoue Gallery, Boston, Massesschuets
Russell Collection, Austin, Texas
Daniel Kany Gallery, Portland, Maine
Dean Day Gallery, Houston, Texas
2006
Gallery Bienvenu, New Orleans, Louisana
Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho
Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, Illinios
Schmidt Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida
John Raimondi Gallery, Boston, Massaschucits
Reed Savage Gallery, Miami, Florida
Perry Nicole Fine Art, Memphis, Tennessee
2005
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sense Gallery, Menlo Park, California.
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Friesen Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2004
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida
Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Magidson Fine Art, Aspen, Colorado
2003
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Craighead Green Gallery , Dallas , Texas
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Sense Gallery, Menlo Park, Ca.
2002
Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Concept Art Gallery; Pittsburgh, Pa.
2001
Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida
EVO Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Bonfoey Company, Cleveland , Ohio
2000
Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois
1999
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois
Mira Mar Gallery; Sarasota, Florida
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Phila, Pennsylvania
1998
Bemis Center of Contemporary Art , Omaha , Nebraska
Craighead Green Gallery , Dallas , Texas
1997
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois
LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1996
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Schmidt / Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa
1995
Galleri Flesser , Helsingborg , Sweden
Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska
Art Now Gallery , Gothenberg, Sweden
Klein Artworks, Chicago, Illinois
1994
Klein Artworks; Chicago, Illinois
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Philadelphia, Pa.
Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, New York
Concept Art Gallery; Pittsburgh, Pa.
1993
Art Now Gallery; Goteborg, Sweden
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Phila., Pennsylvania
1992
Klein Artworks; Chicago, Illinois
Allentown Art Museum; Allentown, Pennsylvania
Castellani Art Museum; Niagara Falls, New York
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Phila, Pennsylvania
Mira Mar Gallery; Sarasota, Florida
1991
Art Now Gallery; Goteborg, Sweden
1990
Nina Freudenheim Gallery; Buffalo, New York
Klein Artworks; Chicago, Illinois
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Phila., Pennsylvania
Jack Tilton Gallery; New York, New York
1989
Art Now Gallery; Goteborg, Sweden
1988
Jack Tilton Gallery; New York, New York
1987
Barbara Krakow Gallery; Boston, Massachusetts
Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, New York
1986
Art Now Gallery; Goteborg, Sweden
Fabian Carlsson Gallery; London, England
Wolff Gallery, New York, New York
1984
Jack Tilton Gallery; New York, New York
1983
Castellani Art Gallery; Niagara Falls, New York
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1999/00
College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1992/93
Lafayette College; Easton, Pennsylvania
1993/95
Carnegie Mellon University; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2006
Selections from the Vitale, Caturano & Company Collection, Bentley College, Waltham, MA
2005
New Work for the New Space Group Show, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas ,Tx
The History of the Gallery, Kustera Tilton Gallery, NYC
The Plane Truth, Friesen Gallery, Seattle, Wa.
Butters Brand, Butters Gallery, Portland, Or.
2004
The Non-Objective Object, Friesen Gallery, Seattle, Wa.
Summer Group Show, Butters Gallery, Portland, Or.
November in Sun Valley, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, Id.
Gallery Artists, Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, Nm.
2003
Art for Life, Cascade AIDS Project, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, OR
Summer Group Show, Littlejohn Contemporary, NYC
Abstraction, Art Resources Gallery, St.. Paul, Mn.
2002
Nature Reined, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
Summer Group Show, Littlejohn Contemporary, NYC
2001
Introductions, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
12th Anniversary Show, Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2000
Gallery Artists, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia. Pa.
Gallery Artists, Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1999
After Nature II, Trevor Richardson, Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Amherst
An Exhibition of Paintings by: Gregory Amenoff ,Bill Jensen, Michael Kessler,Rebecca Perdum,Katherine Porter
1998
Michael Kessler and Stephanie Weber, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska
Contemporary Abstraction, Klein Art Works, Chicago
1997
Abstract Confluence, Klein Art Works, Chicago
1996
Elusive Nature, 1996 Cuenca Bienal of Painting, Cuenca, Ecuador. Curated by David Rubin, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona.
1995
Directors Choice, Horwitch/Lewallen Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Gallery Artists , Klein Artworks, Chicago Illinois.
Michael Kessler/James Bruss, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska
1993
About Nature, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio
curated by David Rubin, Curator of Contemporary Art, C.C.C.A.
1991
Vital Forces, Nature in Contemporary Abstraction, The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
Romantic Abstraction, Works by Amenoff, Kessler, Raimondi; Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Fl.
Annual Exhibition, American Academy in Rome, Italy
Drawings and Poems: Michael Kessler and John Yau; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Vital Forces, Nature in Contemporary Abstraction; Heckscher Museum, Huntington, New York
1990
Five American Artists; Galerie D’Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Inner Natures: Four Contemporary Painters; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, Ca.
“Holiday Invitational,” ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables (Miami), Florida
1989
Four Painters, Flint Institute of Arts; Flint, Michigan
1988
Pennsylvania Perspectives; Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Recent Acquisitions; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
1987
Realism and Abstraction; The Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
1986
Recent Acquisition; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
More Than Meets the Eye; Galleria Carini, Florence, Italy
1985
More Than Meets the Eye; Fabian Carlsson Gallery, London, England
Awards in the Visual Arts-Five; Neuberger Museum, Purchase, New York;
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio; Norton Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida
1984
New York-Outside New York; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, New York;
Museum of Art Association, Monterey, California; Sunrise Museums, Inc. Charleston, West Virginia
1983
Five Contemporary Artists; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Selections 22; The Drawing Center, New York, New York
1980
In and Out of New York; White Columns, New York, New York
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2008
Collin Marshall, Michael Kessler’s Graftings, The Santa Barbara Independent
2004
Kevin Costello, Kessler Landscapes Energetci, Enigmatic, The Sarasota Harold Tribune
Roberta Fallon, Michael Kessler’s New Paintings…,Philadelphia Weekly
2003
Richard Speer, Kessler at Butters Gallery, Willamette Week, Portland, Or.
2002
Edward J. Sozanski, Philadelphia Inquirer, Taming the Grid, Michael Kessler at Schmidt/Dean Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Robert Nott, Surface Matters, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican
Kurt Shaw, Southwest Influences…, The Pitsburgh Tribune
2001
Douglas Max Utter, Mind Over Matter, The Cleveland Free Times
1999
Trevor Richardson, After Nature II, Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Amherst
An Exhibition of Paintings by: Gregory Amenoff ,Bill Jensen, Michael Kessler,Rebecca Perdum,Katherine Porter
1997
Kathleen McCloud ,A Capricious Artistic Journey Beginning With Paint , Pasitempo, The New Mexican, Oct. 3, 1997
Victor M. Cassidy, Artnet Magazine, http://www.artnet.com/home.html ,Forty to Fifty Layers
David Ebony, ArtNet Magazine , http://www.artnet.com/magazine/reviews/ebony/kessler.html
…..David Ebony’s New York Top Ten , Michael Kessler at Littlejohn Contemporary , NY
Miriam Seidel , Art In America , Michael Kessler at : Schmidt/Dean (Philadelphia) and Littlejohn Contemporary (New York)
Roberto Aguilar, EL COMERCIO , Cuenca , Ecuador , A Mystical Version of the Ecology , The U.S Room in the 5th Biennialle
1996
Rubin, David, “Elusive Nature”, 1996 Cuenca Bienal, Cuenca, Ecuador
1992
McNear, Sarah, “Transcendental Spaces”; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
1991
Noll,Anna ,”Vital Forces: Nature in Contemporary Abstraction”, Heckscher Museum, Huntington,NY
1990
Doll, Nancy “Inner Natures” Four Contemporary Artists; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara
King, Elaine A. Nature in the Age of Masscult. Jack Tilton Gallery; New York, New York
Rubin, David S. The Paintings of Michael Kessler: Preserving Nature’s Umbilical Chord; Klein Artworks, Chicago, Illinois
Stein, Judith. Michael Kessler: Paintings Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, New York
1989
Yau, John. Four Painters; Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan
Nature in Evolution; The Scandinavian Works; Art Now Gallery, Goteborg, Sweden
1988
Yau, John. Michael Kessler’s View of the World; Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, New York
1987
Carrier, David. Michael Kessler; Jack Tilton Gallery, New York
1986
Gambrel, Jamey. Awards in the Visual Arts 5; The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston- Salem, North Carolina
Yau, John. After the Fall; Fabian Carlson Gallery, London, England
1984
Rifkin, Ned. New Work: New York/Outside New York: The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Made in Philadelphia 6; Institute of Contemporary Art, Phila., Pennsylvania
1983
Kotik, Charlotta. Landscapes and Imagery: Paintings and Drawings by Michael Kessler; Niagara University, Niagara Falls, New York
PERIODICALS
1997
Seidel, Miriam, “Michael Kessler at Schmidt/Dean and Littlejohn Contemporary” , Art in America, July 1997
Ebony, David, “Michael Kessler at Littlejohn Contemporary, New York City”, ArtNet Magazine, April 1997
McCloud, Kathlieen, “A Capricious Artistic Journey Beginning With Paint”, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican, October 1997
1996
Altabe, Joan “Kessler’s Subtle Paintings Reveal Depth”, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, October 11, 1996
Yellin Outwater,Myra, “Move to Santa Fe Colors Michael Kessler’s Paintings “, The Morning Call, Alentown, Pa. Novenber 17, 1996
Aguilar, Robert, “A Mystical Version of the Ecology”, El Comercio, Cuenca, Ecuador
1995
Melrod, George, “Openings”, Art and Antiques, November 1995, page 40
1994
Holg, Garrett. “Kessler at Klein-Chicago”, Artnews, April, 1994, page 177.
Kohen, Helen. “Michael Kessler’s Roman Geometry”, Miami Herald, April 6, 1994. page 14G
Wiens, Ann, “Kessler at Klein-Chicago”, New Art Examiner, May 1994, page 44
1992
McCracken, David. 11 Year in Italy Catapults Kessler’s Work”, Chicago Tribune, (October 30)
1991
Sozanski, Edward. “On Galleries”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, (April 16)
1990
Carter, Holland. “Michael Kessler,” Art News 89 (December), no.10, 165
Cohen, Ronnie. “Michael Kessler,” Art Forum 29 (November), no. 3, 169
Rice, Robin. “Cool Slate and Weathered Wood,” Philadelphia City Paper (March 16)
Sozanski, Edward. “On Galleries,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (March 4)
Wooster, Ann Sargent. “Michael Kessler,” Arts Magazine 65 (December), no. 4, 82
1989
Cyphers, Peggy. Arts Magazine 65 (January), no. 5, 107
1988
Newhall, Edith. “Galleries,” New York Magazine (September), 72
1987
Carrier, David. “Michael Kessler: A Painter of Nature in the Era of Postmodernist Art” Arts Magazine 61 (May), no. 9, 32-33
Narrett, Eugene. “Michael Kessler,” New Art Examiner 14 (April), no. 8, 45
Stapen, Nancy. “Michael Kessler,” Artforum 25 (April),
Wineberg, Jonathan. “Michael Kessler,” Art in America 75 (November), no.11, 180-181
1986
Hall, Jacqueline. “Arts Flourish Southside New York,” The Columbus Dispatch (September 21)
Zimmer, William. “Winners on Parade at the Neuberger,” The New York Times (May 11), 22, Westchester Section
1985
Bohn-Duchen, Monica. “Nine Painters from New York,” Flash Art (October-November), no. 126, 56
Larson, Kay. “Fresh Faces for Summer,” New York Magazine, 54-55
Raynor, Vivian. “Art: New York, an Anthology at the New Museum,” The New York Times (June 22),
Schwabsky, Barry. “Exotica: A Different World,” Arts Magazine 59 (March), no.7, 120-121
Yau, John. “Michael Kessler,” Artforum 23 (February), no.6, 87, “Michael Kessler’s Drawings: Gesture as Image,” Sulfer 14 (December), 88-93
1984
Warren, Ron. “Michael Kessler at Jack Tilton Gallery,” Arts Magazine 58 (Summer) no. 10, 34-35
1983
Glueck, Grace. “Art-One Man’s Biennial Assembles 102 Artists,” The New York Times (April 15),
