MICHAEL EUGENE KATZ

January, 2026

I have been making digital paintings exclusively for over 20 years. The process fascinates me because it fosters abductive reasoning, my intuition, emotions, unconsciousness, and imagination. I draw inspiration from my mundane surroundings, influenced by my interest in Eastern philosophies. I am motivated by conceptualist Marcel Duchamp’s engagement in “retinal art,” evident in his last artwork, Étant donnés, 1946-1966.

My digital paintings explore the simultaneous presence of memory, emotion, and uncertainty in images. Rather than presenting fixed narratives, I employ layered forms, shifting color fields, and fragmented structures and textures that encourage contemplative observation and open interpretation.

My process is intuitive and responsive. I construct images incrementally, permitting accidents, revisions, inherent and applied textures, and subtle distortions to guide the final composition. This approach reflects my interest in the transient nature of perception and the emergence of meaning through attention, repetition, and temporal progression.

The work frequently oscillates between clarity and obscurity. Familiar visual references dissolve into abstract spaces, while abstract marks evoke landscapes, objects, and evidence of altercation. I am drawn to this transitional realm—where images simultaneously feel recognizable and elusive, personal and collective.

Each piece serves as a visual record of inquiry rather than a definitive statement. The paintings do not aim to illustrate specific concepts, but to create conditions for reflection, emotional resonance, and imaginative engagement. Viewers are encouraged to incorporate their own experiences into the work and complete it through their perception. Subsequent views may be different.

My goal is to stimulate consciousness of presence and transformation: the evolution of images, the shifting of attention, and the capacity of visual experience to encapsulate complexity without resolving it.

"Don't let words limit your experience of life."                                                                                                                       ~ Alan Watts

"I am trying to make something I don't understand.”                                                                                                                      ~ Eva Hesse