About

At their essence, my abstract paintings, photographs, and ceramic sculptures portray explorations of the mind and places of imagination. As a kid growing up in Wisconsin, I remember my excitement coming out of the movie theater after seeing Star Wars. It was an invitation to daydream about space travel, and it ignited my curiosity about what could be out there when I looked into the night sky. When images came from the Hubble telescope, they were astounding. What began as entertainment and curiosity expanded into a full blown interest in the capabilities and depths of the human mind to take us to new places – physical, psychological, mythical, and theoretical. A 2009 talk on time travel by physicist Ronald Mallett during his visit to the Walker Art Center, and another talk by physicist Brian Greene during his 2012 visit to the Twin Cities, were inspirational events.

In summer 2023, after I broke my ankle, I began creating new art that departed from my previous work. I started taking frequent self-portrait photographs as a tool to try to understand myself. Sometimes, I obscure part of my face to represent the concept that I only partially comprehend who I am. Other times I want to be fully seen. I also began recording much of my life using my cellphone camera. These images allow me to document and process significant events in my life. In this new series, I have combined these sets of photographs - my self portraits with images from events - to contemplate and try to understand the circumstances and relationships of my life. I do not use camera filters or manipulate color. I frame objects within the lens of my cellphone camera to challenge my own visual sense. In some instances, such as in these images, I crop and combine them and fade some back using basic tools on my laptop to create a narrative.

I began creating journeys in 2003, and they continue to this day in the form of narrative imagery. Bodies of work include:

Origin of Hope (paintings on paper, 2003-05)
Search  (paintings on paper, 2008-10)
Encounters (paintings on paper, 2010-2012)
Portrait of  (paintings on paper, 2010-ongoing)
New Realities  (photographs, 2010-ongoing)
Collective Memories (mixed media paintings on paper, 2014)
Soar (series of mixed media paintings on paper dedicated to people in my life who have soared to new heights, 2014-ongoing)
Psyche (2019-ongoing)
Me Myself and Eye (2023-ongoing)
Look Even When Difficult (paintings 2025-ongoing)

Studies: University of Minnesota Minneapolis (Master's and Undergraduate degrees); University of Wisconsin (Green Bay)
Residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Palm Springs area of California.

All images and content ©2026 Melissa May Metzler