Michelle Blade is a visual artist who has shown nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the Center for Contemporary Arts; Santa Fe, The Bonnefantenmuseum; Netherlands, Jack Hanley Gallery, Southern Exposure; San Francisco, Western Exhibitions; Chicago, Roberts & Tilton; LA and The Torrance Art Museum, among others.

Blade’s current body of work focuses on introspective narratives set in charged, nature-based landscapes. Collecting intimate moments from her life as inspiration, these works begin as numerous sketches in a notebook before being transferred onto Satin or Poplin.

Once the painting process has begun Blade applies atmospheric layers of paint which bleed, bloom and abstract the original image. The abstraction which continually evolves during the painting process, moves the energy of the image beyond language and toward metaphor. The figures become intertwined with the landscape through her mark making, serving as a physical placeholder for the invisible. This transformation brings elements of magical realism into the image, creating an opportunity to reinterpret the essence of the everyday.

CV

Michelle Blade
b. 1981, LA, CA

Education:
MFA, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, Ca, 2008
BA, Loyola Marymount, LA, Ca, 2003

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2020: Into the Forest, Wilding Cran Gallery, LA, CA
2020: Viewing Room / Odd Ark, LA
2019: Pansy, Nationale, Portland, OR
2017: Partnerlook, Johansson Projects, Oakland, CA
Selected Group Exhibition

2020: It’s a Sad & Beautiful World, Wilding Cran, LA
2020: Poem from Home, Jacob’s West, LA
2020: Track 16, If Everything is an Outrage, Los Angeles
2019: The Pitt / Binder of Women, Collectio Release, LA
2018: Project Space, David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, Co
Awards & Residencies:

FB AIR Program, Menlo Park, 2015
Aurobora Press Residency, San Francisco, 2012
Children’s Creativity Museum Artist in Resident, 2011
ProArts 2×2 Artist Grant, 2011
Alternative Exposure, Southern Exposure Grant, 2010
Murphy-Cadogan Fellowship, 2007