San Francisco-based artist Michelle Fleck is back with new work on Buy Some Damn Art.
KATE: Your artwork deals with urban environments. How was the city of San Francisco, and your neighborhood in particular, evolved since you started painting these landscapes? Are you still inspired by the same things?
MICHELLE: Living in SF for almost 10 years now, I’ve always been drawn to scenes from urban landscapes and the intersection of the man-made and nature. As of late, my work has been impacted by witnessing this city undergo rapid change. My neighborhood keeps developing and every time I leave the house it seems like something new pops up. This series in particular was inspired by watching large condo units being built where there were once longtime vacant lots. A lot of the pieces depict the potted plants being brought in to add greenery these newly completed buildings. This group of paintings explores urban expansion and finds beauty in these moments of newness and change.
KATE: Can you talk a bit about your palette, which includes bright pink, orange and neon green?
MICHELLE: I love bright, artificial colors (what can I say, I grew up in the 90s loving Lisa Frank!) and often juxtapose them with more muted or subdued earth tones. These contrasting color families always jump out at me when I’m walking around the city, and I find them really stunning when placed side by side in my work. They act as a visual metaphor for the concepts I explore in my work.
KATE: A recurrent theme in your work is the sectioning off of certain areas by the use of plastic fencing and stakes and rope. What lies behind this theme?
MICHELLE: I think I’m drawn to these barriers because they speak to our pattern as humans to exert control over a space or situation. The fences, ropes, string and caution tape are all metaphors for control and containment, or separation of man and nature.
KATE: Have you ever dabbled in mixed-media or incorporated found objects in your works?
MICHELLE: Honestly, not so much lately! I love and have always loved paint. While I like the idea of branching out to new media, I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I always find myself going back to what medium I’m most comfortable with.
KATE: What is inspiring you to create new work at this point in time?
MICHELLE: Being in the Bay Area, where art has a huge presence, really keeps me going. And as opportunities to show work keep coming up, that inspires me to continue creating as well.
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See/read a studio visit with Michelle here.
