From her earliest memory, Michelle has loved to draw, and this love has continued throughout her school and university years. Before settling in Auckland with her family, she spent five years living in Japan—the country’s aesthetic a strong influence on her unique style.
Exploring both pottery and printmaking, Michelle developed an appreciation of the traditional ‘wabi-sabi’ philosophy of design: accepting imperfection and finding the beauty within the mundane. Since then, the philosophy has been applied in her practice of printmaking and painting.
At times, Michelle’s paintings can possess a print-like aesthetic, through the deconstruction of an image into simpler shapes and colours. She masks areas she wishes to work upon before applying an overlay of paint and glaze. So, just in the fashion of a print, which has imperfect registration, we can spot the different colour layers at the edges of her paintings.
Taking cue from the dramatic geographical features of Aotearoa, Michelle paints boldly in a semi-abstract manner. In places, her imagery can be gestural and energetic, but can also be interposed against areas of flatness and calm.
We are proud to display a selection of Michelle’s original work here at Turua Gallery, and she also welcomes commissions.
