Michelle Neifert was born and raised in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. She attended Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’ graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Printmaking in 1993. She has also continued her education at both The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Baum School of Art. She has worked in the service industry, as a decorative interiors designer, and in business management to support her love of art throughout her life. Recently departing her business career to pursue her art full time, Michelle now paints from her studio at the Banana Factory studio 253 in Bethlehem, PA. She continues to exhibit her work both nationally and in The Lehigh Valley.
At Kutztown, Neifert’s studio primary focus was on strong high contrast large scale work. Always black and white and always representing the human form. Early on, she had a great love of abstract expressionism. After college, having thoroughly exhausted her focus on black and white, she moved toward color, widening her expressive repertoire. Michelle fell in love with the color work of Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko and Claude Monet. Over the ensuing years, her work kept some of its roots in abstract expressionism while turning more towards color field and even impressionism in an effort to express the human condition through color. After 22 years, the abstract expressionist roots still hold a place in her current work. It now hovers between the abstract and a kind of ethereal realism, which speaks differently to each viewer.
Michelle’s work is typically broken into two lines: abstract expressionism and impressionist landscape. Because her art is about color and emotion, she easily adapts to the size and color requests of buyers looking for a specific painting on a commission basis. She prefers to work large scale, 48” square and higher and typically works in multiple panel units: diptych, triptych, 4 panel and beyond. She is motivated by her true love of paint itself, its color, nuance… each bit of light glistening on the surface, pulling the eye in closer. Combining love of color as well as a need to involve the element of spirituality in her images, her own style has developed. Neifert describes her work as Abstract- Impressionism, her calling, to create color that resonates with the viewer, stirring memories and feelings of joy.
“I feel it is important as a visual artist to convey that which cannot be fully expressed in words, that which is sacred to the self. Painting for me is a spiritual conversation with the canvas. It's important to value what's in front of you - to pay attention, immerse yourself and respond....and for me, it's all about color.
The majority of my work in the last few years has been the result of an interest in color as content, color to express emotion. My inspiration is often from the world around me: clouds, water, and mist. My favorite technique is to layer multiple experimental processes. Each painting is typically built up of many, many layers of paint and or paper with an eye to translucent color and luminosity.

I am more interested in expression of emotions and ideas via conversation with the blank canvas, than producing a static result. A successful painting can be worked on for days, weeks or even minutes. When it is complete, it seems to appear all at once. I am passionate about using color, texture and light to convey emotion. I often work in series, exploring different ideas, until inspiration leads me on a different journey.

The goal of my work is to portray part of myself, emotion, and soul. I create to communicate a feeling of quiet joy that the viewer can ‘live in’ for a while.”
To contact the artist for purchase, commission or to schedule a studio visit please email: mashidin1@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.zipnstein.com

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