Michael Allen is an American painter focusing primarily on the landscape and the relationships within.
His depictions of fleeting moments are a composite of multiple experiences from familiar settings. Derived from a combination of memory, invention, and direct observation, his works seek to present a natural world with a human presence.
Allen currently lives and works in south-central Pennsylvania with his wife, Jessica, and son, Benjamin.
Veiled, 2024, oil on linen, 26.25 x 22.25 inches | Somerville Manning Gallery
Michael Allen
b. 1972, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Education
2004 Master of Fine Art, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
1996 Bachelor of Fine Art, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Michael Allen: A Part of the Silence, Somerville Manning Gallery, Wilmington, DE
2021 Seen/Scene: Recent Work by Michael Allen, Lancaster Galleries, Lancaster, PA
2015 Michael Allen: Millbach Sunrise, Lancaster Galleries, Lancaster, PA
Michael Allen: Drawings 2008-2015, Art Space Gallery, Harrisburg Area Community College East Campus, Lancaster, PA
2012 Michael Allen: Notes,Thoughts and Other Works on Paper, Lancaster Galleries, Lancaster, PA
2011 Michael Allen: Evening Light, Lancaster Galleries, Lancaster, PA
2006 Michael Allen, Artists’ House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Michael Allen: At Home, Lynden Gallery, Elizabethtown, PA
2003 Michael Allen, Artists’ House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002 Michael Allen, Artists’ House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Michael Allen: Recent Paintings and Drawings, YorkArts, York, PA
1999 Michael Allen: Landscapes, The Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Notable Group Exhibitions
Upstream and Down: The Susquehanna, Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes College, Wilkes Barre, PA
Visions of the Susquehanna: 250 Years of Paintings by American Masters (Traveling Exhibit 2006-2008; catalog)
Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA,
Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA,
Governor’s Residence, Harrisburg, PA,
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD,
York College, York, PA,
Roberson Museum, Binghamton, NY
The Susquehanna: River and Inspiration, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Transforming the Commonplace: Masters of Contemporary Realism, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA (catalog)
Trains of Thought: The Railroad in Contemporary Art, Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA
Selected Public and Institutional Collections
Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
University Gallery, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA
Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA
Armstrong World Industries, Lancaster, PA
Thomas A and Georgina T Russo Foundation, Lancaster, PA
Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, Lancaster, PA
Visions of the Susquehanna Collection, Susquehanna Heritage Corporation, Wrightsville, PA
Lebanon County Library System, Palmyra Public Library, Palmyra, PA
Wiedenhammer, Wyomissing, PA
Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Francis Wolf, York, PA
Selected Publications
Dearinger, David B., “The Susquehanna River in Contemporary Art,” Exhibition Catalog Essay, Visions of the Susquehanna: 250 Years of Paintings from American Masters, 2006, pgs. 48-55, (illus. Pg.58).
Dougherty, Stephen, “Contemporary Ideas About Surface and Space,” Plein Air Groups, Plein Air Magazine, Dec/Jan 2013, pg. 51 -55.
Hann, Christopher, “Emerging Artist: Michael Allen Explores a Multi-Medium Approach to Realism,” Art & Antiques Magazine,October 2005, pg 140-145.
Hutton, Molly S., “Between One Thing and Another: The Middle Moments of Michael Allen,” The Gettysburg Review, Spring 2007, pgs.78-80 (illus.).
Mazow, Leo G., “Michael Allen: ‘Shade’ and ‘Shine’”, Exhibition Essay, Night:Selected Works by Michael Allen and Robert Heilman, 2000, illus.
Mazow, Leo G., “National Symbol,” Art & Antiques Magazine, January 2008, pg90-98.
Mazow, Leo G., Trains of Thought: The Railroad in Contemporary Art, Exhibition Essay, 2001, pg. 2.
New American Paintings, The Open Studios Press, Vol. 27(Mid-Atlantic), 2000, illus.,pgs. 14-17.
Poets and Artists, The Power of Drawing, Issue #59, December 2014.
Schweigert, Scott, Exhibition Essay, Imaging Industry; Pennsylvania Coal and Steel, 2006, illus.
Slupe, Ellen, “Inside PA”(review), Art Matters, May 2005
Selected Lectures & Workshops
Observation, Memory and Invention, Mount Gretna School of Art, Mount Gretna, PA
Faculty, Critic, Lecturer, Mount Gretna School of Art, Mount Gretna, PA
Across the Atlantic Plein air Workshop, Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA
Artist Conversation Series, State Museum Of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA (w/ Catherine Prescott)
Landscape Painting Workshop, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA
Methods and Materials Workshop: Dutch Light, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
Methods and Materials Workshop: The Epic Landscape, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA