News

PETER W. MICHEL, Sculptor ● Sculpture in Celebration of Self, Relationship and Community

NEWS

I was selected as a featured artist on the Artsy Shark website on August 20th 2018. From that feature:
"Back in the 70s when we lived in Boston, I heard a talk by Sister Corita Kent. What I came away with from that talk was that a wonderful role, for art to play, is to 'bring the balloons to the party' that we are having - celebrating life"

Mandalas in Celebration of Community
Opened November 2nd and will run through the end of December
at the Corridor Gallery in the YMCA of Fayetteville, NY

I was selected as a finalist for an Arts in Public Places project for the Quinebaug Valley Community College Manufacturing Center in Danielson, CT. A proposal has been submitted and we are awaiting the jury's decision. They are expected to meet at the end of September.

I recently submitted an entry into the Syracuse Connective Corridor Public Art project along with 275 other artists from 17 countries. My submission included design concepts for 10 sites along the path connecting Syracuse University and the heart of downtown Syracuse. Click here for details.
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See info on the 16 semi-finalists and 6 finalists.

"A Place of Healing" is being featured in the December issue of
CODAMagazine: The Magic of Color issue. Find it on the last page. (page 10) CODA Magazine is published by CODAworx - an online community of collaborators in the area of commissioned art projects.

The wall sculpture "A Place of Healing" was installed on June 16th on the exterior of Baystate Children's Hospital Specialty Center in Springfield, MA by Hartford Fine Art & Framing of East Hartford, CT.

Proposed Wall Sculpture for Baystate Children's Hospital

Baystate Children's Hospital Specialty Center has commissioned a wall sculpture to go on the exterior of their new facility on Wason Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was fabricated by Amaral Custom Fabrications of Bristol, RI - a company that has fabricated sculptures for many notable artists including Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Martin Puryear.

Upon completion of their new renovations, the Jackson Madison County Library in Jackson, Tennesee will be installing a "Joining Together" wall sculpture in both of their branch libraries.

Fathers and Sons was selected as the third place winner in the juried on-line exhibition "Celebrating the Healing Power of Art" sponsored by Manhattan Arts International - it will be on their website until July 7

Design studies for several Public Art competitions have been completed so far in 2013, including a few for the Furnace Brook Retreat Center on the Onondaga Community College Campus and one for a Roundabout in Manhattan, Kansas. See Proposals page.

Manhattan, Kansas Roundabout Sculpture Proposal

After attending the International Sculpture Center Conference in Chicago, in early October, I went to the Wandell Sculpture Garden in Urbana, IL where I photographed my recently repainted sculpture "Fathers and Sons" which is now part of the permanent collection.

Nurturing a Positive Spirit - The Sculpture of Peter Michel
opened June 4th and ran through July 13th at the

New Woodstock Free Library in New Woodstock, NY (7 miles south of Cazenovia) The opening reception was on Friday, June 8th - Thanks to those who came!

Photos have come in of the new Lobby Sculpture for Texas Children's Hospital West Campus in Houston - a collaborative effort by Peter and ceramic artist Morna Simon McGuffey.

Texas Children's Hospital West Campus Lobby Sculpture

Peter's design: "Community Circle - Labyrinth Surround" is being used by the Pennsylvania Therapeutic Recreation Society as part of their annual conference program materials. www.ptrs.org/conference.htm

The painted wood wall sculpture "Support Circle Rainbow" has been installed in the Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas

"so many selves is a man ..." was in the exhibition
"A SHOW OF HEADS" at the Limner Gallery
123 Warren Street, Hudson, NY
from November 3 to 27, 2011.
Reception was Saturday, November 5th, 4-6 PM
click here for directions

Starting at the Thea Bowman House passing the Peace Garden Totem, the children of the Thea Bowman House celebrated International Day of Peace with a parade down to Lafayette Square in Utica on September 21st. They treated onlookers to some delightful singing along the way.

Lafayette Square - World Peace Day Celebration

Fabrication is in full swing for a 4 panel painted aluminum lobby sculpture for Texas Children's Hospital new West Campus. The project is a collaboration with ceramic artist Morna Simon McGuffey and combines elements of the outdoor fantasy tree sculptures and her ceramic design for an adjacent lobby column. The fabrication is by Ad Display Sign Systems, Inc. of Katy, TX

Texas Children's Hospital West Campus Lobby Sculpture Progress

"Community As Family" is a new public sculpture

was installed on August 1st, 2011

in the Southside Neighborhood of Syracuse, NY at the Beauchamp Branch of the Onondaga County Public Library.
A photograph by Post-Standard photographer Gary Walts of the dedication event appeared Thursday in the Syracuse paper on C-3.

Just started a Facebook page for Peter W. Michel, Sculptor
Become a fan by liking the page!

A new public sculpture: "Honoring the Onondaga Creek" was installed on July 15th, 2011 next to the Onondaga Creek in the Valley neigborhood of Syracuse, NY. Post-Standard photographer David Lassman has posted a short video of the installation as well as several photos on the Post-Standard website.

Thursday July 14, 2011 Melinda Johnson, Post-Standard arts editor wrote a story about new public art in Syracuse - a 2 page spread: "Taking public art to the streets of Syracuse's neighborhoods, parks, libraries, school and creek" It can also be seen in her blog. If features photos of both maquettes below - "Community As Family" and "Honoring the Onondaga Creek".

Installation of the new outdoor sculpture for the new Texas Children's Hospital West Campus in Houston, TX took place on October 8th, 2010. Shown at right is one of three groupings of colorful fantasy trees, the tallest of which is 10 feet tall. The project was coordinated by hospital art consultants: American Art Resources and fabricated and installed by Ad Display Sign Systems of Katy, TX..

Studies for 12 Public Art pieces were completed in 2010.

A one person exhibition at the Stanley Center for the Arts in Utica, NY opened for the summer session of the Arts in Education Institute on
June 28, 2010. The opening reception was held on September 8th to mark to beginning of the new school year. The exhibition ran until February 4, 2011.

November 19th, 2009 was the opening for my one person show at the Wilson Art Gallery at Le Moyne College in Syracuse NY. It's within the Noreen Reale Falcone Library. The exhibition ran through December 18th.

After welding the connector elements, the aluminum Peace Garden Totem was assembled for the first time (August 21st) to verify that everything fits. The totem was installed on September 12th and
dedicated on Wednesday, September 16th at the Thea Bowman House
on Lafeyette Street in Utica, NY. See progress photos .

As part of Artsweek in Syracuse NY a 21.5' tall wood Community Totem was painted by children on Saturday July 25th. The completed piece was on display at Clinton Square in Syracuse on Saturday August 1st as part of "Family Friendzy" festivities. See more details at Artsweek activities along the Connective Cooridor. or downtownsyracuse.com

A 30" tall painted wood version of Two Are Halves of One was on display at the Cooperstown Art Association National Juried Exhibition in Gallery C. Opening on July 17, the exhibition continued through August 28th at 22 Main Street in Cooperstown, NY.

Two Are Halves of One - Wood Tabletop piece

Two Are Halves of One is now on view at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC. It was moved on March 30, 2009.
See more photos here.

You can catch a glimpse of the Think Peace sculpture on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams as he reports on the visit of Barack and Michelle Obama to Capital City Public Charter School on Tuesday, February 3, 2009. See video clip, more photos & links here.

Obamas' visit Capital City Public Charter School

The Thea Bowman House in Utica, NY has recieved a grant from The Stanley Center for the Arts to facilitate their Peace Garden Totem Project - a 12' tall painted aluminum sculpture. This project is made possible with funds from the Art Creating Community Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Stanley Center for the Arts.

"Think Peace" (a 3' version) was installed at Unity Church in St. George Utah on the United Nations International Day of Peace:
September 21, 2008. Reverend Luigi Persichetti, who colaborated in the design of this piece and commissioned the work, presided over the event which was the culmination of the "Eleven days of Global Unity" Celebration.

We've moved from Clinton to Fayetteville, NY - Please note my new address and phone number below. We are now on the same street with our children and grandchildren.

Check out my new page of Sculptors Web Pages with images from each site.

My NEW BOOK: "The Sculpture of Peter W. Michel"
was published in January (2008). 80 pages with 97 photos of 60 sculptures.

You can order the book as well as see a preview of the entire book by clicking here.

You can see photos of Peter's work in Sculptural Pursuit Magazine.

Peter's work also appears in 2 recent Guild publications:
The Guild Sourcebook of Residential Art 6, Guild Publishing, 2008.
The Sourcebook of Architectural & Interior Art 22, Guild Publishing, 2007.

A powerpoint presentation on the Sculpture of Peter W. Michel was given to 110 eighth graders at the Jordan-Elbridge Middle School in Jordan New York in February 08. The students were in the process of creating a horizontal linear totem sculpture in the entry rotunda of their school.after reading "Touching Spirit Bear" and learning about the Northwest Native American ideology of honoring animals through totems.

Please contact me with your comments & questions by email at peter@petermichel.com or mail at the address below.

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Peter W. Michel, sculptor ● 185 Brookside Lane ● Fayetteville, NY 13066 ● 315-632-4780 ● peter@petermichel.com