Zazen 6 Print

Michelle Neifert was born and raised in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. She attended Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’ graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Printmaking in 1993. She has also continued her education at both The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Baum School of Art. At Kutztown, Neifert’s studio primary focus was on strong high contrast large scale work. Always black and white and always representing the human form. Early on, she had a great love of abstract expressionism. After college, having thoroughly exhausted her focus on black and white, she moved toward color, widening her expressive repertoire. Michelle fell in love with the color work of Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko and Claude Monet. Over the ensuing years, her work kept some of its roots in abstract expressionism while turning more towards color field and even impressionism in an effort to express the human condition through color. After 22 years, the abstract expressionist roots still hold a place in her current work. It now hovers between the abstract and a kind of ethereal realism, which speaks differently to each viewer. Michelle’s work is typically broken into two lines: abstract expressionism and impressionist landscape. Because her art is about color and emotion, she easily adapts to the size and color requests of buyers looking for a specific painting on a commission basis. She prefers to work large scale, 48” square and higher and typically works in multiple panel units: diptych, triptych, 4 panel and beyond. She is motivated by her true love of paint itself, its color, nuance… each bit of light glistening on the surface, pulling the eye in closer. Combining love of color as well as a need to involve the element of spirituality in her images, her own style has developed. Neifert describes her work as Abstract- Impressionism, her calling, to create color that resonates with the viewer, stirring memories and feelings of joy. “I feel it is important as a visual artist to convey that which cannot be fully expressed in words, that which is sacred to the self. Painting for me is a spiritual conversation with the canvas. It's important to value what's in front of you - to pay attention, immerse yourself and respond....and for me, it's all about color. "The majority of my work in the last few years has been the result of an interest in color as content, color to express emotion.