Mastering Visual Expression
The Architecture of Vision
Before he was a painter or civic leader, Michael Shannon was an observer and student of structure. His choice of Architecture at Princeton University reflected this interest — how parts join to make wholes. Michael’s architectural DNA performs visual engineering, structural integrations of form, color, and light.
A Life Defined by Light and Travel
Michael’s artistic sensibilities are rooted in the brilliant clarity of New Mexico’s high-desert sun. As a child, he was awed by Pueblo dances, where early-morning light was softened by juniper smoke, and light snow muffled an ancient symphony of drums, foot rattles, and shaking bells. This early experience of beauty in action, led to his understanding of art’s foundational role in motivating and shaping a “beautiful” life.
His time as a naval intelligence officer in Morocco and later in San Francisco, expanded his visual vocabulary. Whether observing the complex textures and colors of North African markets or the fog-dimmed silhouettes of the Bay Area, Michael has learned how design defines the world. He speaks of the role of "product semantics"— the signs and signals embodied in well-designed products and environments, that communicate what they’re for and how to use them. He believes that a designer’s first responsibility is creating effective person/product communication.
The Return to the Canvas
After a career in furniture design as founder of Northwood Corporation, and Director of Design at Dunbar and Formica, and decades of civic contribution as the founding president of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, Michael has returned to his basic interests, photography and painting.
His current work reflects his respect for the worn and unremarkable. His photographs and paintings invite viewers to pause and appreciate the textures of weathered things. The “Imperfections” of wear, are actually perfections that engender a more profound form of beauty — an encompassing aesthetic that comprises all of an object, its origin and experience, rather than its surface aesthetic alone.
Today, Michael continues to photograph and paint from his studio in New Jersey. While his roles have changed—from craftsman to furniture designer, architect to intelligence officer, community leader to Foundation president—his essential question remains the same: how can humans learn to weave, rather than tear the fabric that connects us all.
He believes “that the nature of being, of living matter from the cells up, is essentially a creative act. We will not survive, I’m convinced, if we don’t align our practice of life with our creative being. I believe humans evolved art as the way to do this: to embrace Life’s intention to do; not succumb to Entropy’s appeal to sleep.
The Journey Behind the Work
Chronology of a Creative Life
Formative Years
1
Early immersion in the arts and diverse cultures of La Luz and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both parents were designers.
Structural Foundation
2
Studies in Engineering and Architecture at Princeton University.
Global Lens
3
Architectural and construction internships in Switzerland; Naval Intelligence service in Morocco and San Francisco.
Design Era
4
Decades of furniture designing: as craftsman in own shop; as founding President of Northwood Corporation, a furniture manufacturing company; as a corporate design director; and finally as a free-lance furniture design consultant.
Civic Legacy
5
Founded the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) to foster economic development, regional philanthropy, and creative placemaking in Northern New Jersey.
The Fine Art Resurgence
6
A dedicated return to an earlier career in the arts, now chiefly painting focused on the integration of human-generated forms with ones found in nature.
Collect, Exhibit, Connect.
For artwork purchases, exhibition opportunities, commissions, or gallery inquiries, please contact Michael Shannon for availability and additional information.