Michael Klein, 1980 | The Novorealism Movement

American painter Michael Klein is a bourgeoning artist in the NovoRealism Movement creating melancholic paintings that have a distinct, contemplative quality.

Klein grew up in the Midwest where he developed a special connection with nature and a desire to express himself accurately through his work.

He began his academic training at just 19 with Richard Whitney and subsequently enrolled in Richard Lack’s The Atelier in Minneapolis, MN.

Still searching for further enrichment, he moved to New York City to study at The Art Students League of New York.

He completed his formal studies as an apprentice to Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier.

Klein’s paintings have a brooding energy emanating from them, a silent, almost exotic, narrative; this quixotic stillness takes his work from being just a nod to 19th century artists such as Whistler and elevates it to a contemporary contemplation of the past and present.

The surfaces of his paintings reveal variations in paint density - from the thinly painted transparent darks to the richly textured built up lights, thus giving way to a lacquered quality, and the intentionally limited color palette creates a dramatic counterpoint.

Thematically, many of Klein’s pieces feel like mysterious vignettes, leaving his story unfinished and all the more fascinating.

Klein is represented by galleries in New York, California, and Massachusetts and has participated in several exhibitions throughout the United States.

With the help of his wife, he developed American Painting Video Magazine in 2009.

Klein currently lives and works in Bronx, NY and maintains a studio in his wife’s hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A review of Klein’s 2012 exhibition with Collins Galleries is featured in American Arts Quarterly Summer, 2012.