Michal Shapiro

I was born in Israel but have been living in NYC since I was 1 year old. (I guess that qualifies me as a real New Yorker.) I’ve been painting for most of my life, and in the past fifteen years I’ve also been working with cast away items that in some cases do not degrade. Things like discarded CDs, used wrapping paper and supermarket styrofoam trays are all things that I have recycled and incorporated into my work.
Green is more than a color to me.
Still, conservation aside, I just want to make good art; something that enhances life. My work is abstract, but it is easy to enjoy. It has been influenced by great abstract artists; Richard Diebenkorn, Willem De Kooning, Thornton Willis, and figurative artists as well, such as Matisse and Vuillard.
Color is probably the most mysterious of elements to me, the way we react to it, and the truly infinite combinations possible to create a memorable passage.
My work is mostly improvisational and frequently created by turning the canvas upside down and sideways in order to break myself out of clichés, and to perceive new perspectives. My paintings and collages evolve out of this process, and are a constant surprise to me.

Queens College, BFA.
Queens College MFA (Incomplete)

Falcon, Beacon NY
Town Hall, Flushing NY
Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Mishkin Gallery, Manhattan, NY
Kurnatowski Galleria, Brooklyn, NY
55 Mercer Gallery, LIC, NY