Michael Riester

Artist Biography

 

Michael Riester is a contemporary painter and illustrator living and working in the Seattle metro area.

Michael grew up in Ohio and received a BFA (Cum Laude) in Painting from Cornish College of the Arts. His works have been exhibited locally at various outlets including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Bemis Spring Art show, Shoreline Art Festival, Gallery North in Edmonds, WA, as well as the Fremont and Edmonds Art Walk. 

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Artist Statement

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Utilizing a comic book influence, traditional painting and drawing techniques, expressionistic mark making, and a deep curiosity of the human condition, my work examines our existential time on this plain. I attempt to display the subject in a beautifully hectic, but expansive space while a sense of comfort and awe is maintained by the figure. Through the push and pull of my process, the chaotic and ethereal atmosphere often finds the subject in moments of vulnerability, isolation and bewilderment.

 

C/V

 

Education

Cornish College of the Arts, BFA Painting, Cum Laude

 

 

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

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January 21-March 18, 2023            The Gallery at Graphite, NùD: Art of the Figure, Edmonds WA

 

August/September 2020          Verum Ultimum 7th Annual Living Mark Group Show,                                                           Portland OR

 

June/July 2020                       City of Lynnwood, City Hall Art Gallery, Lynnwood WA                                                           (online due to Covid-19)

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Oct/Nov 2019                         Fremont Art Walk, Seattle WA

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March 2018                            Gallery North, Small Works Group Exhibition, Edmonds WA                                                   

August 2017                           Ballard Art Walk, Seattle WA

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April 1st & 2nd   2017              Bemis Spring Art Show Group Exhibition, Seattle WA

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March 2017                             Gallery North, Small Works Group Exhibition, Edmonds WA