The Artistic Journey of Michael Prettyman
Michael Prettyman is a contemporary artist and scholar of comparative religion, whose lifelong journey as a maker is deeply intertwined with his work. He creates a sprawling body of paintings, essays, and lectures that merge his interests in contemporary representational painting with world wisdom texts and cross-cultural eschatological traditions. Michael's art practice is informed by postmodern iterations of classic representational painting, influenced by esoteric spiritual practice and study. His material practice is pursued as a meditation, whether in drawing, painting, or sculpture. He has trained in classical drawing, painting, and sculpture at The School of Visual Art and the New York Academy of Art, and received advanced instruction in thangka painting at the Tsering School of Art in Kathmandu, Nepal. He also studied Tibetan Buddhist meditation and thangka painting in India, Nepal, and monasteries in Massachusetts and New York. Michael holds a master's degree in theology from the Harvard Divinity School and has exhibited his work in New York, Hong Kong, Barcelona, and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
