Inscape #2 Collage

Michele Thrane is printmaker and mixed media artist. Her lively, complex forms are created with encaustic monotypes, ink, and acrylic and are mounted on panels. Her work features gestural abstractions, a kind of invented calligraphy—sometimes called “asemic writing”—that invites the viewer to see her seeming-symbols as letters, musical notation, and, sometimes, scientific equations. Her work has been influenced by such abstract expressionists as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, and Willem de Kooning. Her son now lives in Australia, and her visits there have made the colorful abstractions of aboriginal artwork another source of inspiration. Michele grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and has B.F.A. from Ohio State University and an M.S.W. from Temple University. She has served as president of FUSEDChicago, a Midwest encaustic group, and exhibits regularly with them. She has participated in juried, curated, and invitational exhibits across the United States. She recently won an Award of Distinction and an Award of Recognition at the Wabash Valley Annual Exhibit at the Swope Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana (2019). Michele’s studio is in the northwest Chicago suburbs. She is represented by Atelier Newport, Newport, Rhode Island. Her work is in a number of private collections.