Michelle Gordon
Michelle Gordon is a Kansas City native whose large-scale oil paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She grew up in Brookside next door to artists Lou Marak and Philomene Bennett, and through them was introduced to painting at a young age. She has maintained a lifelong studio practice ever since.
Gordon studied language and literature in the United States and France, earning degrees from the University of Oregon, Sorbonne University, and University of Lyon. Though accepted to the École des Beaux-Arts d’Avignon, she ultimately chose to remain self-taught, developing her voice independently. Her professional career began in the early 2000s in Chicago, where her work was unexpectedly discovered.
Working primarily on a large scale, Gordon approaches painting as a stream of consciousness. The thick, impasto application of oil paint — a signature element of her style — gives her canvases a sculptural presence and palpable physicality. Rooted in her own lived experience and emotional landscape, her paintings translate personal experience into layered, tactile expressions that invite viewers into an emotional dialogue. By painting from her own feelings and perceptions, she taps into something universal — reminding us that while each life unfolds in its own way, we are all sharing the same human experience.
