Mishael Coggeshall-Burr integrates the art of photography and oil painting to create novel and compelling images on canvas. Taking blurred shots with a 35mm camera, the artist searches for peripheral scenes with cinematic color and tone. He translates selected images into abstract-realist paintings with convincing color, formal structure, and subtle references to art history. Through his actions Mishael questions both the truth of photography and the fiction of painting: we enter a liquid, cinematic space, capturing the magic moment when Alice seems to step through the looking glass. The photorealistic image melts away, the prosaic merges with poetry.
“We live in a mostly blurry world. Our eyes only actually focus on a tenth of our field of vision at any one time. Our memories are blurred by our viewpoint, emotions and context. The landscapes I paint are in some way our genuine environment: the backgrounds to our lives, always present and often out of focus.”
Mishael studied painting at Middlebury College, The Glasgow School of Art, and the Art Student's League in New York. His artistic adventures have led him to many countries and continents, with many images from his travels featured in his art exhibitions. He lives, works and paints in Montague, MA with his wife and four children.