Michelle Mackey grew up in Texas and still has a connection to the vast horizontal space of the southwest. During college, she spent some time painting and studying in Taos, N.M., Cortona, Italy, and South Carolina. In 1999, she received her M.F.A. from Pratt, in Brooklyn, and she has been living here in Brooklyn ever since. Last year, she had a solo show in Berlin at Galerie Kollaborativ, and she has had several solo shows in NYC with Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art.

Look for Mackey's upcoming show at Furman University in November 2010.

Living in NY as a painter is both difficult and rewarding, but she wouldn't have it any other way.