Michelle Peterson-Albandoz:
An accomplished painter and mixed-media artist, Michelle Peterson-Albandoz is well known for her unique use of reclaimed wood. She works with both constructions on panel as well as sculpture from discarded wood surrounding her Chicago neighborhood.
Peterson-Albandoz sees her creative process as a kind of reversal of time and waste. The backwards journey begins with the gathering of discarded wooden planks from lots, alleys and dumpsters. She says " I remove the nails, erase the man-made elements that bound the wood together - stripping, sawing and cutting the wood pieces, reducing them further away from structural forms. "Sorting them to like-colors and textures helps her stay open the rhythm and patterns during the building of the work. Layers of old wood still containing the cracked paint and rusty nail holes begin to build up like a living tree once more. It is at the same time a reminder of the tree that once grew in the forest, the harvesting and manipulating of it into architectural structures and the ultimate rebirth as an aesthetic object
Reviews of Michelle’s Work
GregList DC Art Reveiw
Swish Scene Art Review
Washington Post
RenewShaw Review
The In Towner Art review
Rebel Artist Review
The Press-Enterprise Art Review
