Michelle Echenique
Unmuzzled, muselets, 46" x 21" x 2.5", 2023
Earth, Hands, Sky, reclaimed wood, 6' x 4' x 2', 2023
Fish Out of Water, Site specific installation, created in Crete, 2021
Second Wind, site specific installation at Hayes Valley Art Works, 2022
Detail: Second Wind, site specific installation at Hayes Valley Art Works, 2022
"Gargoyle", part of the Giants Shrine art trail
"Nut Altar", part of the Giants Shrine art trail
"Travelers", installed on the Greek island of Lesvos, evokes the passage, resilience and hope of displaced people.
"Travelers", detail, installed on the Greek island of Lesvos, evokes the passage, resilience and hope of displaced people.
"Travelers", detail, installed on the Greek island of Lesvos, evokes the passage, resilience and hope of displaced people.
Entrance to the "Seaview Trail" installed on the Greek island of Lesvos dedicated to Dionysus and Athena.
Detail from the "Seaview Trail" installed on the Greek island of Lesvos dedicated to Dionysus and Athena.
Detail from the "Seaview Trail" installed on the Greek island of Lesvos dedicated to Dionysus and Athena.
Michelle Echenique is a mixed media, multidisciplinary artist meaning she works in a myriad of ways with an expansive list of materials. Despite the variety of medium, there is a through line in the work via the nature of materials she chooses, which is typically what people throwaway. She revels in the challenge of transforming the familiar and unseen into something new, ideally surprising enough to cause viewers to reconsider “trash”.
Using throwaways is key to the work’s impact and intention. She honors the integrity and original purpose of these found materials by making use of the innate histories and forms embedded in each fragment. The process is evolutionary, beginning with cleaning, repairing and prep, then figuring how to build and create a work of art. This deliberate process allows for a message or story to surface organically. In the end something new emerges, a work with hints of the familiar juxtaposed with compelling mystery that invites engagement and scrutiny.