Michael Rice is a self–taught visual artist based in Hartford, CT.  His work, at once both arresting and inviting, is a direct reflection of our current times – an age in which the lines between our digital and physical worlds continue to blur. Finding himself at the intersection of these obverse yet convergent realities, it is here – at the center of what Rice calls the “push-pull” – that he and his work reside.

Rooted in a resourceful 1980s upbringing and influenced by today’s modern landscape, Rice’s style traverses genres and evokes a unique aesthetic that glides from nostalgic to futuristic. Often  engaging with the viewer in a seemingly relentless fashion, his work draws parallels to society’s dichotomous transformation and offers perspective on the emergence of a new paradigm – one filled with limitless potential, but also new challenges.

As this metamorphosis unfolds, Rice believes we must look beyond the conveniences and consider important questions that arise as a result: How will we adapt in order to discern fact from fiction, real from fake? What separates natural from manufactured, organic from forced? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean to be human in this day and age?