Artist Statement
Natural systems leave records. Weather patterns, shoreline vegetation, and eroding coastlines all carry the trace of invisible forces acting over time. My work translates those records into sculptural wall reliefs, using photography, custom software, and hundreds of layers of cut paper to convert gradients of light and tone into physical depth.
The pieces do not depict their subjects so much as reconstruct them. Form emerges through accumulation, the way a plant's shape emerges from wind, gravity, and the angle of light. Every translation introduces a gap between what is captured, what is computed, and what can be physically made. The work lives in that gap.
Though the reliefs appear delicate, their strength lies in their construction. Layered paper reinforces itself, echoing the adaptive strategies of the systems it depicts. As light changes and the viewer moves, the pieces shift between image and object.
About the Artist
Michael Koehle received his BA in Art Practice at UC Berkeley, his MS in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis, and his MFA in studio art from Mills College. He has received residency grants from the Headlands Center for the Arts, Autodesk Pier 9, and Djerassi. He is also the recipient of the general prize in the YouFab Global Creative Awards in Japan and the Murphy & Cadogan fellowship. Koehle lives and works in Oakland.
Inquiries:
Jack Fischer Gallery
1275 Minnesota Street Project
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415)-725-0308