Artist Spotlight - Michael Schultheis
Inspired by the ghost life of erased blackboard equations, Michael Schultheis’ paintings employ classical geometry, emotive storytelling, and provocative color palettes in a multifaceted exploration of the human condition. Schultheis’ mindscapes emerge from washed layers of geometric motifs and acrylic abstractions, inviting the viewer to examine the concrete and ethereal elements of physics and philosophy. The work is at once epistemic and visceral, leaping from the cycloidal trajectory of kite strings tracing a Möbius path to the limaçon orbit of fated Aristophanean lovers. Schultheis challenges the distinctions between story, art, and mathematics while evoking greater questions surrounding the quantification of the human experience.
During his 15 year career as a professional artist, Michael Schultheis has presented work in over 40 solo exhibitions across the country. His art appears in collections by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. and US Embassies in Greece and Switzerland. Schultheis has lectured on the ascent of Analytical Expressionism at various universities and his paintings have been featured in several national media outlets including the Wall Street Journal and NPR. Before dedicating himself to the arts, Schultheis spent a decade at Microsoft applying the mathematical expertise he developed during graduate work in Econometrics at Cornell University.