My retrospective exhibition Captive Coal official opening at the Sharp Museum of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL was on January 19th, 2024 where I gave an Artist Talk to a nice crowd of family, collectors, faculty, students and more than a few folks from the local coal industry. Thanks go out to Wm Weston Stoerger, Curator of Exhibitions, Collectors and Organizers of the Exhibition John and Lucia Hollister, Dean John Politz and my long time partner and wife the artist Jeanne Nemcek. Exhibition runs the full semester until May 10th .
2023 Individual Artist Program Awarded
I’m happy to announce that I have received a 2023 Individual Artist Program grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for both photography of new work and series of accordion folded cards for future exhibitions #DCASEgrants.
2024 Forthcoming One-person Museum Exhibition Announced
I am very pleased to announce that I will be featured in a one-person retrospective museum exhibition presented by the Sharp Museum of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, in the North Hall Mitchell Gallery.. Opening January 16th, 2024 and on view until May 16th, 2024, an Artist Talk will also be part of the opening of the exhibition. The focus of the exhibition is how coal has informed my work and life. A big thank you goes out to WM Weston Stoerger, Curator of Exhibitions and long time collectors John E. and Lucia Hollister.
Forthcoming One-person Exhibition Announced
I am pleased to announce that I will be featured in a forthcoming one-person exhibition of large-scale paintings and drawings that will be with the University Art Gallery of Western Illinois University. Opening September 12th and running through October 19th, 2023, the core of the exhibition will draw from my Interpolations series. A short Artist Talk will be at the opening, A big thank you to Tyler Hennings, Director.
Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art Group Exhibition
I am pleased to be included in the forthcoming group exhibitions in support of Art Rosenbaum at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art in the Huston area. I have know Art and Margo since 1977 in Athens at The University of Georgia. I will have an older work from 1994 titled, The Sorghum Drinker in the show. The exhibition was organized by Gallery Director Lee Matney of the Linda Matney Gallery and the title of the exhibition is, Three Excellences of Culture: Painting, Music, the Work of Art Rosenbuam and Friends. The exhibition opens September 24th and uns through January 14, 2023.
Bone Deep Opens
My one-person exhibition, Bone Deep, at the Shircliff Gallery of Art of Vincennes University, IN, opened August 16th and runs until September 22nd. August 31st the documentary film, Work at Hand, will be shown at 7:00pm in the gallery and an Artist Talk and Opening will take place at 12::00 noon on September 1st.
Virtual Artist Talk for Interpolations
Virtual Artist Talk for Interpolations presented by the Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL March 4, 2021 Introduction by Paula Danoff, President and CEO and Moderated by Cara Feeney, Director of Exhibitions. Click here for artist talk.
Exhibition Card Announcement For Interpolations at EAC
I am very happy to share this card announcement for my forthcoming major one-person exhibition, Interpolations, New Large-scale Work by Michael K. Paxton, that will open at the Evanston Art Center main floor gallery February 27 and run through April 4, 2021. An extensive brochure will be available at the exhibition and a virtual Artist Talk will take place March 5, 2021 from 5:30-6:30pm in support of this new work. This exhibition will mark my third major one-person museum scale exhibition of new work in four years and will also mark my 40th anniversary of showing in Chicago. This project is partially funded by a Grant from Columbia College Chicago, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC general membership.
WVPBS to Broadcast Film June 14, 2020
I am excited to announce that West Virginia Public Broadcasting HD will air the documentary film Work at Hand, Michael K. Paxton, Sunday June 14th at 7:00 pm (ET) across the entire state. Special thanks to Director of Programming Eddie Isom and his staff at WVPBS. For more information and program schedule.
Evanston Art Center Virtual Studio Visit →
I am very honored to have been featured by the Evanston Art Center in a Zoom Virtual Studio Visit and Artist Talk for their social media platforms. Introduced by President and CEO of the Center, Paula Danoff and interviewed by Cara Feeney, Director of Exhibitions, who also did a very nice job of editing this video. I look with excitement to my one-person exhibition of new work that has been pushed forward due to the virus shutdown and slated to open February 27, 2021. To view the video and more information.
Linda Matney Gallery Tenth Anniversary Exhibit Online →
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus Linda Matney’s Tenth Anniversary Exhibit was force to be viewed online as a virtual exhibition. Very sad that this important milestone for the gallery with a celebration of works by gallery artist was so effected.
Raw Reckoning Catalog In Library Collection
The Columbia College of Chicago Library has added to their collections the exhibition catalog for Raw Reckoning from my one-person exhibition presented at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago this past summer. Curator for the exhibition Adrienne Kochman wrote a wonderful essay on my work and I also added a short essay.
New Drawing in Exhibition Antifreeze
I will have a large-scale drawing Charcoal Lung #6 , a new work from 2020, in the faculty exhibition Antifreeze from February 3-21 presented at the Averill and Bernard Leviton Gallery of Columbia College Chicago which is in conjunction with the College Art Association Annual Conference being held in Chicago this year. The opening is February 13 from 4-7pm and was Curated by Debra Kayes Halpern.
Works on Paper on View at Current Art Fair →
I am happy to announce that I will have works on paper on view at the 3rd Annual Current Art Fair in Richmond Virginia in the Linda Matney Gallery’s Booth that runs October 24th through October 27th.
Appalachian Futures Exhibition WVU Library →
I am pleased to have a couple of my Pillar of Dust images included in the Appalachian Futures Regional Artist Respond group exhibition on view at the West Virginia University Library that will run from August 15 through October 15, 2019 and Curated by Sally Deskins.
Gallery Talk Raw Reckoning
Michael will be having an Artist Talk Sunday, July 28th from 1 to 3pm in connected with his current one-person exhibition Raw Reckoning now on view at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago. He will be joined by Dr. Robert Cohen, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Occupational Lung Disease Program at Northwestern University. He is also Clinical Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. Mediator for the talk will be Adrienne Kochman, Curator of UIMA and the driving force for this exhibition. Here is a link to the event.
https://uima-chicago.org/events/2019/7/28/raw-reckoning-gallery-talk
Exhibition Card for Raw Reckoning UIMA Chicago →
Here is the front of the card for my one-person exhibition Raw Reckoning that opens June 7th and runs to August 4th at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago.
Information on Raw Reckoning Opening and Exhibition →
Opening Reception: 6-9pm, June 7th, 2019
On display from June 7th-August 4th, 2019
Raw Reckoning is veteran Chicago artist Michael K. Paxton’s one-person exhibition of large-scale paintings and works on paper that derive their structure from the study of slide sections of the effect of black lung disease on coalminers. Paxton, a sixth generation West Virginian creates pillar size fields of chalk, charcoal, gesso and acrylic on raw canvas that embrace this ongoing devastation from coal in an effort to point to a place and people not heard from often in contemporary art. Through a well ingrained working process of size and materials, the open-ended approach of how each painting is developed produces a colorful and awkward work of aggressive mark making that refuses to stand still. Pushing hard against expectations an otherness surrounds his work as he looks for the exact point where his bone deep Appalachian heritage can carve out a place for a heart’s desire to speak of something important, personal and yet as common as dirt.
Raw Reckoning Opens June 7 →
June 7th will be the opening of my one-person exhibition Raw Reckoning presented by the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago (UIMA). This exhibition will feature my most recent 96” x72” large-scale paintings, 72” x 50” charcoal on paper drawings, sketchbooks and an extensive catalog produced by the museum. Organized and developed by Adrienne Kochman, Curator and Olivia Rozdolsky, Assistant Curator the exhibition will run until August 4, 2019.
Artist Talk and Film Screening →
April 25, 2019 I will be featured by the Peninsula Fine Art Center in Newport News, Virginia in an After Dark Film and Artist Talk from 6:30-8:30. The documentary film Work at Hand will be screened as part of this event. This was organized by Lee Matney of the Linda Matney Gallery and Diana Blanchard, Curator of the Art Center.
