Michael Sell (b. 1952)

Igloo is one of a series of 30 small, layered, architecturally informed constructions created between 2017 and 2019. Wide mats frame each three-dimensional work, with the opening serving as an aperture—drawing the viewer close and into an intimate discovery of the complex scape of subtle colors, layers, and lines within.

In a discussion with the artist, Sell describes Igloo and the series:

“The title Igloo refers to the cool colors of these layered structures, which are like panes of ice or glass, frozen, but seemingly ready to spatially realign at any moment. Among the works in this series, Igloo is unique as a horizontal composition. Twice-matted asymmetrically, the construction continues under the mat, drawing the observer’s curiosity to what is obscured. These are not works that photograph well—they need personal experience.”

Michael Sell is an artist of exceptional talent and originality. He continually evolves new pathways for his work, with changing subjects, forms, techniques, and methods of presentation. This work contains many elements of his artistic evolution, including: architecture, still life, collage, mastery of oil pastels, and experiment with line, surface, color, and shadow.

Born in Southern California in 1952, Sell attended Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He later worked in New York as a designer and illustrator and lived in an 18th-century farmhouse in northeastern Pennsylvania before moving to Bolinas. Michael Sell’s art has been exhibited in New York City (Rizzoli Gallery, Jason McCoy), Houston (McMurtrey Gallery), Los Angeles (The Museum Bank Gallery), Washington D.C. (Century Gallery), San Francisco (Jack Fischer Gallery), and Bolinas Museum.