Michael Banks

Michael Banks' artwork reflects an abstract and expressionistic style using a mixture of found objects and artist materials that is further complemented by a vivid color palette of penetrating red, yellow and green.

Michael Banks was born in 1972 and was raised by his single mother in a housing project in north Alabama. As a child, Michael loved to draw and paint and create using whatever materials he could find. His mother encouraged him, and he continued to create until November 1992 when his mother died. At that point, Michael fell into a great depression and stopped producing his artwork for 5 years.

In 1997, he recalled the hope and encouragement that his mother had given him, and he began to paint again. He developed a style using roofing tar as an undercoating on wood with artist's paint incising subtle nuances. His figures have elongated and distended forms, small, facial attributes and swollen, mournful gazes. These probably reflect a certain despondency that the artist may have endured due to the passing of his mother.

Painting for Michael is almost an automatic process. He is totally absorbed in his work, reacting without deep thought or planning. When questioned about what he means by a certain part of a painting, he often responds, "It surprises me what I have painted when I have finished. I was just in my groove and this is what came out. Wow."

Michael has won many honors with his work which has been exhibited in New York, Denver, and Atlanta. The Hurn Museum in Savannah, Georgia presented a One-Man exhibition of his work in 2005 and has a number of his works in their permanent collection. Articles featuring his work have appeared in Southern Living magazine (August 2006) and Better Homes and Gardens (August 2006). A review of his Hurn exhibition in the Savannah Morning News stated, "Michael Banks: Outsider Artist" offers Savannah's most rewarding and penetrating solo show in recent memory. As this unforgettable exhibit clearly indicates, Banks is one outsider artist who has certainly earned the right to be on the inside. Michael Banks continues painting full time. He states, "I still experiment, combining both found objects as well as artist materials into my work. Every day I try to create. Painting is my life."