Michele Banks is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

artist (also known as Artologica) whose work explores themes inspired by science and medicine, including images such as viruses,

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

, and plant and animal cells. Her paintings and collages explore

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

, climate change and more. She lives and works in the Greater

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

capital region.

Education

She earned a BA from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1987, and an MA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1989.

Artwork

Although Banks' paintings are generally based on scientific and medical themes, she is not a scientist, but is fascinated by the natural world, and mankind's impact on that world, especially at the microscopic level. She has exhibited in galleries, art spaces, and art festivals around the Greater Washington, DC region and the Mid Atlantic. Several of her paintings have also been reproduced as book and journal covers. In 2011 ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' described her paintings as "simply breathtaking." A 2018 review, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' art critic observed that her paintings had "soft but vividly hued watercolors, some displayed in petri dishes, depict viruses, bacteria and other microscopic players, including sperm thronging an egg." Three years earlier, the same ''Washington Post'' art critic noted that her work "depicts the body indirectly through the mechanical pulses of EEG and EKG tests." In 2020, as the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

struck the planet, Banks art was a "natural" for depicting the

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

. She noted that she "created a whole series of work specifically inspired by the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

. I’ve been painting viruses for years, so of course I painted the coronavirus, over and over. It was all I could think about.”

Solo and two person shows

2011 - Johns Hopkins University, Rockville, MD 2012 -

Montgomery College Montgomery College (MC) is a Public college, public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland. The school was founded in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College. Four years later, it absorbed the 57-year-old Bliss Electrical School, which b ...

, Silver Spring, Cafritz Art Center, “Our Small Rooms” (Two artist show) 2016 - “Hidden Worlds” Park View Gallery, Glen Echo, MD 2017 - “Hidden Universe”

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

Rockville, MD Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth-largest incorporated city ...

2018 - Artists and Makers Gallery, Rockville MD 2018 - ''Methods of Inquiry: Fields of Discovery,'' McLean Project for the Arts,

McLean, VA McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 census. It is located between the Potomac River and Vienna within the Washi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Michele Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Artists from Washington, D.C. Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Painters from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists