Michael Robert Flechtner (born June 19, 1951) is an American artist known for his work in

neon art Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode a ...

. In 2009 he was commissioned by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

to create the first-ever neon postage stamp for the

Forever Stamp Non-denominated postage is a postage stamp intended to meet a certain postage rate, but printed without the denomination, the price for that rate. They may retain full validity for the intended rate, regardless of later rate changes, or they ma ...

series. The "Celebrate" stamp was released in 2011. The stamp was reissued in 2015, and the original neon is on exhibit at the Smithsonian

National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the primary postal museum of the United States. It covers large portions of the postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement be ...

. Flechtner graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 1981 from

Columbus College of Art and Design Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a Private college, private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in dow ...

. An Ohio native, with a Masters in Fine Art (sculpture & painting) from

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, Flechtner moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, inspired first by the artist

Stephen Antonakos Stephen Antonakos (; November 1, 1926 in Agios Nikolaos, Laconia, Greece – August 17, 2013 in New York City) was a Greek-American sculptor most well known for his abstract sculptures often incorporating neon. Life and works Antonakos moved wit ...

and subsequent visit to the

Museum of Neon Art The Museum of Neon Art (MONA), in Glendale, California, United States, is an art museum that exhibits historic neon signs, and electric and kinetic art. The collection notably includes neon signs from the Brown Derby and Grauman's Chinese Thea ...

(MONA), then located in Downtown Los Angeles. Flechtner now sits on MONA's advisory board. Flechtner says his fascination with light began when he was a child: "I’d go to church and see light streaming through the stained glass windows, my father, replacing bulbs sitting in a pile Christmas lights and various flavors of Jell-O." His public art includes "A Neon Aquarium" at the corner of Olympic and Sawtelle in Los Angeles, and installations in Minneapolis and Tokyo. In 2019 he began the physical reproduction and replacement of the neon signage at the drive-in movie theater in his home town of

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in Seneca County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Developed along the Sandusky River, Tiffin is located about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 17,953 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. Flechtner is the recipient of a

J. Paul Getty Trust The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution, with an estimated endowment of US$7.7 billion in 2020. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations—the Getty Center in the ...

Fund Fellowship for the Visual Arts, the Botticelli Award, and

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

Award.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletchner, Michael Living people Sculptors from Ohio Neon artists Date of birth missing (living people) Wichita State University alumni American stamp designers 1951 births