THE ARTWORK OF MICHELLE MAY
MICHELLE MAY is a contemporary expressionist painter, making intuitive work that draws from water, nature, history and place.
“Life is a garden, not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice.”
— Kurt Vonnegut
HUNKY DORY EXHIBITION
“Prisma” will be in a group exhibition, entitled Hunky Dory, curated by Brittany Severance and Eric Nichols. "The Guy, The Girl and The Gilded Goat” will use this exhibition as a backdrop for the film, inspired by a painting in the show.
The American-based Victorian era term “Hunky Dory” describes situations that are pleasant, satisfactory, and something that is going according to plan. Some say it comes from the Dutch words that mean “safe” or “at home.” Over time the term has also become the common name for a blue variety of delphinium. This exhibition explores a diverse range of interpretations of the term through the works of over thirty artists strongly connected to Worcester.
A special note is that the art exhibition will serve as the backdrop for an independent short film called "The Guy, The Girl and The Gilded Goat," which was inspired by the artwork.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Worcester Arts Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Hunky Dory, curated by Brittany Severance and Eric Nichols
Opening Reception: July 24, 4 - 7pm
July 24 - August 16, 2025
Mary Dolphin Cosgrove Gallery
Worcester State University
486 Chandler St, Worcester, MA
The project is funded by Worcester Arts Council.
ABOUT THE CURATORS
BRITTANY SEVERANCE
Brittany Severance is an award winning filmmaker, photographer, and educator based out of Worcester, Massachusetts. You'll often find her behind a camera, whether as the director, director of photography, or as a set photographer. Her work explores themes of identity, perception, memory, and relationships, creating projects that often reflect on domestic and daily life. She has a particular interest in coming of age narratives where the protagonist transforms as they move into the next stage of their life.
Severance’s photography and short films have shown in film festivals, museums, and galleries such as the Women's International Film and Arts Festival, the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, the Texas Short Film Festival, the Worcester Art Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum, the Danforth Art Museum, and the New Britain Museum of American Art among others.
Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Worcester State University teaching video production, screenwriting, and film studies courses. She has also taught courses at the College of the Holy Cross and Clark University.
-via Brittany Severance
Eric Nichols
Eric Nichols is an artist and photographer based out of Worcester Massachusetts. He holds his MFA in studio arts from Maine College of Art, is an Assistant Professor of photography at Worcester State University, and has taught at Clark University, and The New England Institute of Art. Eric is as an independent curato and sits on the Board of Directors at the Photographic Resource Center in Boston. His practice utilizes both large format and digital photography, he has shown nationally including the Fitchburg Art Museum, the Griffin Museum of Photography, The Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland Maine.
Eric is presently the Assistant Professor in Photography and Communication at Worcester State University.
-via Eric Nichols
Spectrum Acquisition
While curating Artists Touched by Addiction, I was compelled to paint, inspired by all the artists stories. As the curator, invested in this project, I felt my own vulnerabilities come forward. We all know people touched by addiction and this hit home for me personally having watched addiction destroy the life of someone I loved. Watching my children lose too many friends to opioids.
Spectrum’s action to assemble a collection of artists who have been touched by addiction is sending ripples of positivity, conversation and healing through the Worcester community. I am very proud to have this painting chosen by Spectrum to hang in the offices of their new building and maybe touch someone that needs a little bit of positive energy.
AN ATTRACTION TO BLUE SPACES—
Inspired by time spent near the water, COAST is a series I began out of an urgency for balance in my own life. Being by the coast, the air, the weather, the history of place, and the heightening of senses bring balance and energy to me, a constant since childhood. I always found that being at our Cape house brought me so much happiness and balance. I hope my paintings bring memories to viewers of precious time at the coast. My art comes from my subconscious. Through art, the wild, untamed parts of humans can find a root and grow to the surface. We seek ways to let internal feelings free and working on this collection is the unfurling of my attraction to blue spaces.
In challenge or celebration, I am constantly drawn to the water’s edge like a magnet, seeking solitude, beauty and energy. I am so connected to the ocean, natural spaces and salty atmosphere. Coupled with the visual audacity of the landscapes of the Cape in Massachusetts and what I have seen of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, there is a constant yearning to be near blue water. There is science connected to the brain’s recognition of color for humans and animals. Reflected wavelengths of color hit us like a drug. Colorful water is probably as close as humans can get to seeing ultraviolet light. Humans need water and are drawn to it for survival and so pervasive is our love for it. According to Wallace Nichols in his book Blue Minds, being near water “improves performance, increases calm, diminishes anxiety, and increases professional success”.
To the contrary, deep oceans also bring respect, apprehension and sometimes fear. Perhaps it is the contrast that deepens my attraction. Respecting this great unknown is always a priority when I look out onto that horizon. Unplugging and reconnecting with myself by the water is truly what leads me. It is spiritual for me.
A CALL TO ACTION—
My intention is that COAST SERIES inspires more people to think and act in positive ways to preserve our waters. Our world and our weather is changing rapidly with global warming. Each year the visible differences cause anxiety and panic in me. Urgently, conservation and preservation need to be at the forefront of our minds. Personally, I have seen in just a few years how coral reefs are dying at extreme rates and it feels like the powers of the world are not acting in haste. I hope friends, family and strangers who see my work are prompted to remember valuable time at the coast and act in some way to help preserve our planet.
Snorkeling Eustastia Reef, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, video @captainbvi
co-founder of ATELIER ID GLOBAL & juniper Rag
MARKETING SERVICES, ARTist marketing & ACQUISITION CONSULTING
Commissions from me are available, however, in-home art consultations and art procurement services of other artists who suit a world of tastes are also available through our Juniper Rag network. If it is not my art that is suiting your fancy, I have access to hundreds of skilled artists in all genres of visual art. We host and jury over 10 exhibitions a year, virtually and in-person. We collaborate with art organizations and non-profits for curation and fundraising.
I am also the co-founder of Atelier ID Global, a design and marketing agency that provides design and digital marketing services worldwide.
