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 Santa Fe, New Mexico.
AWARDS / FELLOWSHIPS
1992
Pollock/Krasner Award, Painting, New York, New York
1990
Rome Prize, Painting, American Academy in Rome
1985
Awards in the Visual Arts-Five, Grant in Painting, South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art
1983
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Grant in Painting
1977
Whitney Independent Study Program, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009
Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2008
George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Blink Gallery, Boulder, Colorado
Renee George Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2007
Gallery Bienvenu, New Orleans, Louisiana
Lanoue Fine Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Daniel Kany Gallery, Portland, Maine
Sense Gallery, Menlo Park, California
Dean Day Gallery, Houston, Texas
2006
Gallery Bienvenu, New Orleans, Louisiana
CraIghead Green Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida
Reed Savage Gallery, Miami, Florida
Perry Nicole Fine Art, Memphis, Tennessee
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2005
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
F8 Fine Art, Austin, Texas
Sense Gallery, Melno Park, California
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Friesen Gallery , Seattle, Washington
2004
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Magidson Fine Art, Aspen, Colorado
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida
Art Resources Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
F8 Fine Art, Austin, Texas
2003
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Craighead/Green Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Sense Gallery, Menlo Park, California
2002
Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Schmidt/Dean Gallery; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Port Jackson Fine Art, Laguna Beach, California
2001
Bonfoey, Cleveland, Ohio
EVO Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2000
Klein Artworks; Chicago, Illinois
1999 Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, New York
Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois
Miramar 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
Cline 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
Scmidt/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
Miramar 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
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, Oregon
2004
The Non-Objective Object, Friesen Gallery, Seattle. Washington Summer Group, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon
November in Sun Valley, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID.
Gallery Artists, Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
2002
Nature Reined, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
2001
Introductions, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
2000
Pink and Red, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Phila, Pa.
Gallery Artisits, Art Now Gallery, Gothenborg, Sweden
1999
After Nature II, Trevor Richardson, Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Works on Paper, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Phila, Pa.
Gallery Artists, Klein Art Works, Chicago. Il.
1998
Michael Kessler and Stephanie Weber, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska Contemporary Abstraction, Klein Art Works, Chicago Gallery Artisits, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Phila, Pa
A Few Large Paintings, Mira Mar Gallery, Sarasota. Fl.
1997
Gallery Artists, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Exquisite Surfaces, Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Gallery Artists, Klein Art Works, Chicago. Il.
1996
Cuenca Bienal , Quito and Guayaqiul, Equador /Phoenix Art Museum,
David Rubin, Curator of Contemporary Art, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix , Az.
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, Na
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, The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
Romantic Abstraction, Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Fl.
Annual Exhibition, American Academy in Rome, Italy
Drawings and Poems: Michael Kessler and John Yau; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa
1990
Five American Artists; Galerie D'Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Inner Natures: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, Ca.
1989
Four Painters, Flint Institute of Arts; Flint, Michigan
1988
Pennsylvania Perspectives; Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh,Pa
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, NYC
Museum of Art Association, Monterey, California; Sunrise Museums, Charleston, WV
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
2005
Richard Speer, Michael Kessler at Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM. ARTnews, November, 2005
2004
Kevin Costello, Kessler Landscapes Energetic, Enigmatic, The Sarasota Harold Tribune
Roberta Fallon, Michael Kesler's New Paintings Challenge Notions of Texture and Form, Philadelphia Weekly
2003
Richard Speer, Kessler at Butters Gallery, Willamette Week, Portland, Or
2002
Robert Nott, Surface Matters, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican
Edward J. Sozanski, Features Weekend, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Kurt Shaw, Southwest Influences Pa. Native's Paintings, The Pittsburgh 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
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 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 1996 Altabe, Joan "Kessler's Subtle Paintings Reveal Depth", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, October 11,
Yellin Outwater,Myra, "Move to Santa Fe Colors Michael Kessler's Paintings ", The Morning Call, Alentown, Aguilar, Robert, "A Mystical Version of the Ecology", El Comercio, Cuenca, EcuadoRubin, David, "Elusive Nature", 1996 Cuenca Bienal, 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)
McNear, Sarah, "Transcendental Spaces"; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
1991
Noll,Anna ,"Vital Forces: Nature in Contemporary Abstraction", Heckscher Museum, Huntington,NY
Sozanski, Edward. "On Galleries", The Philadelphia Inquirer, (April 16)
1990
Doll, Nancy "Inner Natures" Four Contemporary Artists; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara
Carter, Holland. "Michael Kessler," Art News 89 (December), no.10, 165 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
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
Cyphers, Peggy. Arts Magazine 65 (January), no. 5, 107
Newhall, Edith. "Galleries," New York Magazine (September), 72
1988
Yau, John. Michael Kessler's View of the World; Jack
Tilton Gallery, New York, New York
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
Carrier, David. Michael Kessler; Jack Tilton Gallery, New York
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
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
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
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
Warren, Ron. "Michael Kessler at Jack Tilton Gallery," Arts Magazine 58 (Summer) no. 10, 34-35
1983
Kotik, Charlotta. Landscapes and Imagery: Paintings and Drawings by Michael Kessler; Niagara
University, Niagara Falls, New York
Glueck, Grace. "Art-One Man's Biennial Assembles 102 Artists," The New York Times (April 15)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1999/2000 College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1993/1995 Carnegie Mellon University; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1992/1993 Lafayette College; Easton, Pennsylvania
Select Museum Collections
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, Austin, Texas
Broad Foundation, Los Angeles, California
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, New York
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, Massachusetts
Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fine Arts Gallery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Flint Institute of the Arts, Flint, Michigan
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Honolulu Academy of the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Museum of Fine Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York
Peobody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
The Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California
Select Corporate Collections
Pfizer Inc, New York, New York
PepsiCo, Camden, New Jersey
Price Waterhouse, Washington, D.C.
Boone County National Bank, Columbia, Missouri
Prudential Insurance Co., Newark, New Jersey
Regent Hotel, Hong Kong Exxon, Houston Texas
Comcast, Philadelphia, Pa.
Deloitte & Touch, Atlanta, Georgia
Austin Company, Cleveland, Ohio
El Paso Energy, Houston, Texas
Exxon Moble, Houston, Texas
Young Conoway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP Wilmington DE
Ericsson, Gothengerg, Sweden
American Financial Group, NYC
First Union Bank, Phila. Pa.
Compaq Computer, Houston, Texas
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania
Bank of Boston, Boston
Bank of Japan, New York
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York
Northwest Airlines, St. Paul, Mn.
Heller Financial, Chicago
Rubenstein Co. Pittsburgh, Pa.
Phillips Service, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Freemarkets, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Buchanan Ingersoll, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Gateway Towers, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Morgan, Lewis, Bockius, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tokio Marine Management, NYC
Jacobson/Sylvester, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tyson Corner, NYC
Vanguard Group, Valley Forge, Pa.
Lincoln Financial Group. Pa.
Warten School of Business, Pa.
The Macy's Collection, Nevada
Duff & Phelps, Chicago
Penton Media Inc. Cleveland, Ohio
Lincoln Financial Group, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, Missouri
Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Scimed Life Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sears Merchandise Group, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
SOHIO, Cleveland, Ohio
Vector Securities, Deerfield, Illinois
The St. Paul Companies, St. Paul, Minnesota
Hart Senate Building, Senator Specter's Office, Washington, DC
Voyageur Fund Managers. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Represented by The George Billis Gallery
555 West 25 Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001
phone: 212-645-2621
fax : 212-645-2397
gallery@georgebillis.com
www.georgebillis.com