Michelle Bert
About the work
My project is essentially one of portraiture stemming from a fascination in the singularity of others. It’s my curiosity about what motivates people, comforts them, drives them to become defensive, what makes them laugh or feel guilty, become shy or provoked, that keeps me on a seemingly relentless yet personal investigation. Each painting assists in developing a better understanding of who I perceive others to be.
With some of my newest works, I’m directing this curiosity toward making descriptive interior spaces. I capture the portraits of my subjects obliquely by depicting the spaces they inhabit. I’m working a lot with memory and like memory my portraits aren’t always clear. I accept distortion as being an important part of any memory and allow that to show.
A bit of autobiographical history
I grew up in East Moline, IL and made my way to the bay area when I was 18 years old. I spent a great deal of time working in the hospitality industry, creating small works influenced by an endless steam of travelers and transients. Travelers tend to have an openness about them that provides for genuine interactions, which I indulged in with great pleasure. Eventually, creating art became so much of a focal point in my life that I felt compelled to enroll in a BFA program at CCA where I graduated with honors.
These days I can be found painting away in my studio at NIMBY.
Refuse to live vicariously
