Michelle Doll

Michelle Doll’s paintings capture quiet, intimate moments hinged on personal connections between her subjects. Her paintings are imbued with femininity and introspection, and explore the themes of love, desire and connection. She was born in Canton, Ohio and received her BFA from Kent State University and her MFA from the New York Academy of Art. She was awarded the Prince of Wales / Forbes Foundation Travel Grant in 2006, received an Artist in Residence at Eden Rock on St. Barths (French West Indies) in 2008, The Bennett Prize Honorable Mention in 2018 and received a 2019 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Doll’s paintings have been exhibited in the US and internationally in cities such as New York, San Francisco, London and Basel, Switzerland, Oslo,Norway and Barcelona, Spain. Michelle Doll lives and works in Hoboken, NJ. Doll is represented by Lyons Wier Gallery in NYC, Galleri Ramfjord in Oslo, Norway, and Albemarle Gallery in London, UK.

COUPLE (GZ1), 2018

Oil on canvas

60" H x 60" W

In the artists words, “These paintings are meditations for me to be present with the positive aspects of love and connection. The work is about real people who share honest feelings of connection, and it is work that feels deeply meaningful to me. To that end, I paint people I personally know, who feel intimate love and true connection with each other. My objective is to preserve significant memories within the emotional dialogue of two bonding individuals. Above all, I want to fill my own life with the positive energy of love, and these painted meditations on intimacy are a way to be present with those sensations”.

COUPLE (ALJ_SQ1), 2016

Oil on panel

12" H x 12" W

Doll makes paintings of intimate moments of contact between people. She deploys a classical, representational method, which exploits a subtle handling of tone and color to express the complex variations of the male and female body. Skin and flesh fascinate her and this is expressed in the delicately worked surfaces of the paintings. Of particular note is her treatment of hands. The power of touch is implicit in their combinations and gestures. 

MOTHER/CHILD (JA1), 2019

Oil on panel

9” H x 6” W 

In the artist’s words, “I’m attracted to the physical and metaphysical energy that exists between individuals who share a deep connection: the touch between a couple, the closeness between a mother and child. These transient flashes of human contact hold meaning in the creases, crevices, overlaps, folds and weight of connecting bodies. I experience each brush stroke as a way of recording both the physical body and the invisible mental dialogue during a private moment. In scrutinizing these deep human feelings, I evoke an intimate connection of the mind, body, and soul through the tactile substance of paint”.