On this episode we interview Artist and Paper Sculptor Michael Velliquette. We talk about discovering paper as a complex creative medium, exploring where present and permanence intersect, pursuing opportunities that are genuine to the work, and nurturing professional relationships while balancing gallery representation.
A working artist for 20 years, Michael Velliquette has participated in over 150 exhibitions in museums and galleries in the US, Europe and Asia. His recent exhibitions include Paper Duets, Gallery Art.Motif, Dehli, India; Fascination Paper, Gustav Lübke Museum, Hamm, Germany; The Cheongju Craft Biennale, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea; Moments of Transformation, Morgan Paper Conservancy Gallery, Cleveland, OH; The Possibilities of Paper, Torggler Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA; Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual, Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, St. Louis University; and The Shanghai International Paper Art Biennial, Fengxian Museum, Shanghai, China.
His work is in the permanent collections of the Chazen Museum of Art; the Art Museum of South Texas; the Racine Art Museum; The San Antonio Museum of Art; The Progressive Corporation; The John Michael Kohler Art Center; and The Microsoft Collection.
He has participated in several residencies and cultural exchange programs including the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft; Artpace International Artist-in-Residence; the SÍM Residency, Reykjavik; the John Michael Kohler Art/Industry program; EUARCA, Kassel, Germany, and Kloster Dornach, Basel, Switzerland.
His work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including Colossal, Time Out New York and The New York Times. He has been included in several compendiums on paper art produced by such publishers as Thames & Hudson, Gestalten, Sandu, Lark Crafts, Hightone Books.
He is member of the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists (IAPMA), the Guild of American Papercutters (GAP, and the Paper Artist Collective (PAC)—a global community of artists and designers dedicated to the medium of paper.
He received his BFA from the Florida State University-1993, and his MA & MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison-2000.
As an educator Velliquette is an Assistant Professor of Foundations in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he teaches courses in visual literacy and creative practice. He also teaches workshops on the paper arts and has been a visiting instructor at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft, the Pocosin School of Fine Craft, and Penland School of Craft (Summer 2024).