Michael Scott American, b. 1958

Michael Scott has created paintings that are visual experiences pushed to the extreme since the 1980s. In his practice he juxtaposes narrow vertical lines, alternating in pattern and color, on aluminium panels. This produces an optical impact that approaches an abstract surreality the artist terms the ‘psychedelic.’ This attempt to activate the “surreal state of the mind’s eye” underlines the artist’s extreme approach to visual art. Over time, his body of work has evolved from precisely calculated patterns in the 1990s towards a more intuitive process predicated on chance. Steering away from subjectivity, Michael Scott currently explores a systematic approach to painting which, though pure and linear in form, remains painterly.

Michael Scott (b. 1958, Paoli, Pennsylvania) studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1980) before receiving a BA from Hamilton College in 1981. He then completed an MFA at Hunter College in 1983. His work has been exhibited widely, most recently serving as the subject of a 2024 solo exhibition, Fantastical Landscapes, at PFA-Washington, D.C. His work has additionally been showcased at Bjorn & Gundorph Gallery in Aarhaus, DK; Galerie Renos Xippas in Geneva, CH; Tony Shrafzi Gallery in New York, NY; Laurent Strouk Gallery in Paris, FR; and Galerie Triple V in Paris, FR. 

The artist’s works are held in many public collections, including Le Consortium, Dijon, FR; Le FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, FR; MAMCO, Geneva, CH; Le Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, CH; Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, CH; Fonds Cantonal d’Art Contemporain, CH, Musee des baux-arts; la Chaux-de-Fonds, CH; MACBA, Buenos Aires, AR; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA. He currently lives and works in New York City.