Artists, Poets and friends
Michael Kuch
Drawing from his imagination, Michael Kuch portrays a world both fantastic & familiar. Whimsical juxtapositions of human figure & natural form fuse into personal metaphor. A head sprouts flowers, evocative of inner growth; another face hides under a sea-shell hat, seeking protection. A distinctive, patient tenderness suffuses his imagery. Anthropomorphic frogs, wearing no more than frowns, satire our naked, vulnerable condition. Unceremonious portraits of biblical & mythological characters comment gently on iconoclastic times. A Sisyphus, toiling behind a giant snail, does not strain his muscles; his sad, soft posture conveys a mental rather than physical burden. Kuch's art does not focus on verisimilitude, nor does it dwell in aesthetic interpretation; rather these qualities attend human experience as revealed from the inside: a world of psychological reflection.
Kuch matches his prolific generation of iconography with facility in diverse media. Anchored in solid pen & ink draftsmanship, Kuch is at ease working in ink wash, watercolor, oils, pastels, etching, lithography, & bronze sculpture. Ink wash adds mystery to his meticulous line; ink mixed with watercolor articulates outlines & solidifies space. Knowledge of watercolor's transparencies helps him create layered, gem-like oils. Kuch's first bronze sculpture, Pregnant Man, even plays literally with the creative physicality of the medium. Kuch's various talents give his themes room to evolve according to the subtle, expressive strengths of each material.
Michael Kuch was born on October 9th, 1965 & grew up in northern Vermont. He began drawing in pen & ink at the age of eleven & the following year, had a one-person show at a local museum. He remained self-taught until he came under the wing of Leonard Baskin at Hampshire College. Under Baskin's critical eye, Kuch studied life-drawing in the classical tradition. As a student, he was particularly struck by the print work of Odilon Redon, Francisco Goya, and Giambattista Tiepolo. For many years after receiving his BA, Kuch continued to work closely with Baskin, printing etchings in color for Baskin's Gehenna Press. In 1994 Kuch started his own Double Elephant Press with the publication of a book of frog etchings entitled, A Plague on Your House. A recent book project, Apocalypse Clocks was a millenial retrospective of the end of time. A collaboration with former Poet Laureate, Anthony Hecht, Sance for a Minyan, resurrected original testament figures to let them speak to modern times. A book in progress, Falling to Earth is a reaction to the events of September eleventh. Kuch's poetry has been published in the Nation. Kuch currently divides his time between his apartment near Ground Zero in Manhattan & his studio in Northampton, Massachusetts.
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