Michael Fann has been creating since the mid-1970's and has taught, as well as continued painting and exhibiting his work in the U.S.A. and in Europe.  During the 1980's he worked with the traditional medium of painting and began in Frankfurt am Main Germany to experiment with other materials and modes of employment.  This resulted in using driftwood, wood from the forest floor and packaging materials to create objects that functioned as " SCRIPT SCULPTURES"  exhibiting the qualities of ARCHAIC SYMBOLS  or ancient writing in 3-dimensional form.  He expanded on this idea using styrofoam packaging in much the same way.  By the 1990's  the objects began to be produced exclusively out of styrofoam and polyeurathane foam pieces that he found abandonded and ready for diposal. These objects continued to be involved with the idea of the archaic and some returned to the traditional rectangular format.  This tendency in his work has lasted  up until 2006, when he returned to using paper and Chinese ink to echo the "script sculptures"  begun in the mid 1980's.  These recent works on paper are involved with the qualities of EASTERN CALLIGRAPHY, BOTANICAL FORMS and a SUBJECTIVE FORM of "writing" similar to the works of the 1980's.   Another thread that runs through his work and relates to both ancient writing and traditional field painting are a series of paintings on canvas that employ the use of strong color and a unified field. These works began, as well, in the 1990's and continue until the present.

Michael Fann lives and works in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.......

and is always operating in the light of the Perenniel Philosophy.

Text:  Dr. R.M. Van der Griff   October 2007