KESSLER has a continued devotion to nature as his muse. Nevertheless, associations with homage to the sun or an ostensible ode to the earth are tempered by the imposition of geometries, squares and triangles. By literally pushing paint across the surface with hand-made trowels and other tools, the formation of MICHAEL KESSLER'S bold and self-assured compositions are studies in the push and pull between the drive to surmount nature and surrendering to it.

Each painting carries between 60-150 veneers of paint. These "skins" of paint each respond to the previous set, creating a metamorphosis—a record of the painting's journey. KESSLER'S complex technique tends to seek a sense of archaeological depth—a sensual, touchable quality that takes notice of how light and natural forms intermingle.

Immersed in the landscape of his New Mexico home, KESSLER speaks of being influenced by the quiet beauty of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, the sensuous monochromatic work of Brice Marden, and the markings of Cy Twombly. New Mexico's vast landscape has become harmonious with KESSLER'S process—erosion, evaporation, vastness, and man trying to superimpose order.

KESSLER skillfully stretches each gestured line past its limit, often laying the pieces aside to dry, allowing the sun, the wind and natural elements to play a hand in shaping the final product. "It's like an improvisatory dance," KESSLER notes. "Like a series of sequential steps with each layer leading me to the next one. I compare it to feeling your way through a dark forest at night ... It is daunting, but if you go through the forest at night enough times, eventually you get good at it."

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