The skinny on Michael Flechtner. (flek-ner)
I was born in Tiffin Ohio in 1951…Year of the Rabbit. Blood type – O neg. Gemini with Cancer rising. I have a BFA and MFA in sculpture and painting and was introduced to the use of neon as an expressive fine art material in undergraduate school during a lecture by Stephen Antonakos. I learned neon fabrication after graduate school and have worked all my life with colored light, things electrical, science and fire! I love word play of any kind and I’m not afraid to make bad puns! I take my cues for creating art from contemporary culture, keenly aware of what has come before me in art. Due to my background in sculpture I’m able to create both 2 and 3-dimensional neon forms.
I have a fascination with wearable electric art and have created numerous pieces over the decades. I have 5 large public artworks in the US…3 in the Los Angeles area, including one of a boy throwing up in rainbow colors. I am a recipient of a Ford Foundation award and a J. Paul Getty Trust Fund Fellow. I have work in dozens of private collections including a few celebrities.
I was asked to design a stamp for the USPS. The Celebrate Forever stamp has been in circulation since 2011…re-issued in 2015. The original 3’ by 4’ neon for the stamp is on exhibit in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. The photograph of the original neon, that became the stamp image was taken by me. The neon Celebrate stamp is one of the most popular in the Celebrate series. I have fabricated neon for other artists who use neon in their art. They include Frank Romero, Doug Aitken, Dan Attoe, Betye Saar, Alexandra Grant and Michael Hayden. I’ve also done work for Bruce Nauman and Stephen Antonakos.
Facebook/Instagram: @flektro22
