Michelle Jezierski is a visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. Having graduated from UDK Berlin with a postgraduate degree and with a semester at Cooper Union in New York under her belt, Michelle has gone on to exhibit her work throughout Germany. Her work explores the genre of landscape painting with an urban and contemporary twist, incorporating ‘geometric disturbances’ and sculptural qualities which she had learned while studying under British sculptor Tony Cragg.


Install Shot at 68 Projects, 2017

Where did you spend lockdown?

When lockdown began here in Berlin in mid March I was so grateful to be able to still come to my studio. It’s what kept me from not going stir-crazy. I spent my time either at home or in the studio. 


Did you have access to a studio during this time? If not, how did you continue to create work?

Yes. I had access to my studio and when I wasn’t in the studio I watched a lot of interviews on artists I appreciate to get some input since there were no openings or museums to visit. 


Michelle Jezierski’s Studio

Can you talk through your art making process?

I usually begin with an idea of an atmosphere and a space. Landscapes in a broader sense are often my starting point. Once I’ve set the composition and set the tone in colors I begin with the actual part of interfering and augmenting the space through the use of geometric disturbances such as lines, shifts and breaks in the picture plane. 


‘Ignite’, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, 140 x 120 cm, 2020

Did you experiment with any new materials or methodologies?

I used the time to focus more of my process and experimented with folding and dyeing the canvas before stretching and priming it. I wanted to create a noise and a depth within the canvas, a space that has an inward glow rather than applying layer after layer on top of the canvas. 


Given the limitations and restrictions of the last few months, did your art making process change at all?  If so, do you think this will continue to change how you will make art going forward?

To be honest, it’s been quite good to get rid of so many excess distractions and social obligations and really focus on my practice in the studio. I do miss going to openings, mingling and getting that input, but having more late nights in the studio instead has been very productive. I hope to keep that going even when things get busier again. 


Did you have any projects during this time that went ahead?

I had a show at Galerie Jahn with the sculptor Christine Liebich in the south of Germany that luckily took place, but we never had an opening due to the current circumstances. They did a great job of making a virtual showroom (still online),  but it was a strange feeling to never get see the show in person. 


Do you have any upcoming projects?

I have a show on July 17th, called ‘A Matter of Touch’, a group show with 8 painters from the US and Europe, I’m working on a project with Tabor Presse making a color Lithograph, as well as some other projects in the planning. But I don’t want to mention them just yet as everything is still in the making and I’m trying to stay corona flexible…



All photographs were provided by Michelle Jezierski. To see more of Michelle’s work visit her website and Instagram.