Albino

Michael Letts fosters connections to people in rural diners, bars, and northern Midwest crannies. Here he finds beauty in the workers, hunters, and denizens of the backcountry and examines the mythology of American individualism. Known for independence and self-reliance, Americans now face the impact of an increasingly interconnected reality. Letts reflects on how technology propels society to “live more and more on a screen, through glass, literally flattened.” Mirroring this effect in his monoprint painting technique, Letts layers paint on glass plates before transferring the work onto canvas. Pairing this medium with subjects that combine traditional still life and portraiture, the viewer experiences a two-dimensional life closer to the wild.

Michael Letts is a painter living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He holds an MFA from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. A practicing artist for over 30 years, Letts’ work has been included in national and international public and private collections, galleries, museums, and publications. He is currently a professor in the School of Art and Design at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan.