Michael Torlen

Two monotypes from Torlen's recent "Dancer's" series were selected for inclusion in Prints USA 2011, the Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri.

The Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri also purchased Torlen's watercolor/gouche, Hot Fat, for its permanent collection, from the exhibition Watercolor USA 2011.

Last Gasp, a monotype from Torlen's recent series, "2048" will be on exhibit from January 30- March 4, 2011, in American Impressions,  a Contemporary Printmaking Exhibition, at William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ.

IPCNY NEW PRINTS 2010/Summer: HEAT July 13-August 13, 2010 included Torlen's monotype Dead in the Water. The essayist and curator, Deborah Chaney, wrote " Literal references to heat include some more obvious but impactful imagery, like fire. This is skillfully exemplified in Michael Torlen's monotype Dead in the Water with an image of a boat exploding in flames as the victims below--with their glowing auras--sink helplessly into the murky water."

In 2010 a Torlen monotype, Dilemma, was selected by Joann Moser, Senior Curator of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for Art on Paper at The Maryland Federation of Art (MFA), Anapolis, MD. The exhibition runs March 19 through April 18, 2010 at the MFA's Circle Gallery.

In 2009 Torlen exhibited work in Interpretations: The Art of Transformation, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT: Watercolor USA 2009, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO; McNeese 22nd National Works on Paper, Abercrombie Gallery, McNeese State University; and Prints USA 2009, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO

In 2008 two Torlen works on paper, from Sanger Fra Mor, were included in Future Tense: Reshaping the Landscape at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY from May 11- July 20, 2008.

In July 2008, Torlen exhibited Watercolor/Gouaches at Whitney Art Works, Portland ME, in Arc of Visibility: Betyween the Shore and the Sea, a two person show with artist Wendy Prellwitz. A review of this exhibition by Ken Greenleaf appeard in the July 11-17 issue of the Portland Phoenix.

Torlen's work can also be seen in the Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island, ME.

In 2007 The Longest Journey, a Torlen 2006 monoprint, was purchased for the permanent collection for the Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO, from the national biennial competition Prints USA 2007. 

Torlen's critique class resumed in October 2011. The 2011 sessions are held on Fridays, October 7, November 4, December 2, and Januarty 6, 2012 from 10 AM to 3 PM. The group meets in a studio in Port Chester, NY. Interested artists should contact Michael Torlen at info@michaeltorlen.com

The poet and art critic, Carl Little, included Torlen's watercolor, Moon over Monhegan Light (from Songs for My Father), 2000, in his book, Paintings of Maine, published by Down East Books, 2006.   

Since 2005, Torlen has been exploring themes of work, especially commercial fishermen, and the ocean's fisheries. The oceans and the fisheries are challenged, posed by human interaction and degradation. According to one study, commercial fishing will be finished in 2048. BPs Gulf of Mexico's disaster in the summer of 2010 contributes to the the decline. Bluefin Tuna, a favorite theme of Torlen, spawn only in two bodies of water--the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Responding to this crisis, recent works on paper include The Ocean is Black (TOIB), The Angry Fisherman, Gravitas, and 2048. Each is a series of monoprints and monotypes, combining old and new technology in multiple layers-computer editing, digital printing, and traditional printmaking methods.  The Ocean is Black and the other titles are part of the ongoing visual essay Sanger Fra Mor.

Torlen has been working in Maine, during the summer months, for 25 years-the past 15 years on Monhegan Island. On Monhegan Island he paints watercolors in the open air and develops narrative works evocative of a sense of place. Maine's commercial fishing, the sea and egalitarian values inspire his work.