Michele M. Banks

I create paintings exploring themes from science and medicine, including images such as viruses, bacteria, and plant and animal cells. I’ve looked at how these organisms affect humans, and in turn how we affect them, through climate change, antibiotic use and other impacts on the earth. I find watercolor to be an ideal medium for this type of work because it can be transparent or translucent, allowing me to hint at what is happening beneath the surface. Watercolor also naturally flows into fractal patterns such as those seen in the nervous and circulatory systems, as well as in tree branches and river systems – in fact, everywhere in nature.

The three paintings in the DCCAH Art Bank collection reflect a more abstract stage of my artwork. All of them use the repetition of shapes to call attention to the variety within. The hard, geometric frame of the square gives way to the natural, flowing form of the wet paint inside, just as all things in nature reveal their individuality when you look within.