Artist Statement
In Michael Koehle's most recent body of work, custom software translates landscape and satellite photographs into three-dimensional reliefs made from hundreds of paper cross sections, where the depth of the relief is defined by the brightness or darkness of the image. Bright regions form ridges and peaks, while dark regions form valleys and canyons. Each cross sectional slice of paper is printed with a gradient and cut using a laser cutter. The strips are then folded and applied to a panel by hand. The shape of the paper strips and the pattern of the cross sections are chosen to reinforce the intensities depicted in the image. Violent storm waves, for example, are echoed with jagged triangles of paper. The swirling forces of a hurricane are matched with a spiral pattern of slices. The original image is deconstructed and then reconstructed as a physical relief based on digital information. Some information is subtracted, other is added. The artist's hope is that by making strange and illusive images of powerful natural forces - by giving them physical form - some of their power is returned to them.
Koehle’s art is informed by the skill sets gathered from training as a research engineer. At the same time, the elemental and sometimes frightening forces - crashing waves, spiraling hurricanes, huge plumes of smoke on the horizon - recall themes from 19th century romanticism, including shipwrecks, crushing ice-scapes, and the awesome force and seeming indifference of nature. Given this vast sweep, it is important to remember that Koehle’s works are custom programmed and crafted by hand.
About the Artist
Michael Koehle received his BA in Art Practice at UC Berkeley, his MS in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis, and his MFA in studio art from Mills College. He has received residency grants from the Headlands Center for the Arts, Autodesk Pier 9, and Djerassi. He is also the recipient of the general prize in the YouFab Global Creative Awards in Japan and the Murphy & Cadogan fellowship. Koehle lives and works in Oakland.
Inquiries:
Jack Fischer Gallery
1275 Minnesota Street Project
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415)-725-0308