Michael Stillion is an Artist, Teacher and Curator living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design and his MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington. Michael is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Miami University where he teaches painting and drawing. His honors include being twice awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, a Joan Mitchell full fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center and a full year fellowship to the Roswell Artist in Residence. His work has also been exhibited in venues such as the Columbus Museum of Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Roswell Museum of Art, Marshall University, Art Chicago and SpringBreak Art Show, New York. His work has been featured in publications such as Art Maze Magazine and New American Paintings. He is currently represented by Smith & Co.
This murky, moody painting began at the start of the pandemic in 2020. My painting went from punchy, chromatic imagery to a slow, meticulous and monotone composition. Inspired by grisailles paintings, particularly Van Eyck’s The Annunciation Diptych, these paintings represent still-lifes made of stone perched on contained pedestals. The stone subject cracks and crumbles under the erosion of history, reflecting our current conditions.
