Michael Louis Young

Region: Pacific Coast

I am interested in mining the messy, confusing, and contradictory stuff that makes up the experience of being human. I am attracted to big questions with unsatisfying answers. Themes in my work include optimism vs. pragmatism, discomfort with perceived cultural norms, love, loneliness, the value of dreams, the protestant work ethic in the face of my own mortality, and the desire for escape vs. my inability to do so.

The paintings in my current body of work reflect a conflicting desire to be a true blue optimist and a life long habit of shooting down everything that seems soft, shiny, or too good to be true.