Michael Hall (he/him/his) is a Bay Area artist and educator whose drawings, paintings, and videos examine personal and mass-produced objects made unique through their idiosyncratic wear and tear. Hall explores how these common objects act as markers of time and place while also conjuring personal histories, collective desires, and cultural phenomena. He gravitates towards items that bridge connections and disseminate information, from traditional formats like books and records to ever-evolving digital artifacts like QR codes. Hall focuses on the act of recording, attempting to slow the inevitable march of time through mindful observation, patient rendering contrasted with the random aesthetics of “rabbit hole” research. Hall’s renderings of these objects (sometimes along with actual objects) confuse the reading of representation and hint at the complexity of belief, how we exchange information, and its impact on our lives.
Hall is a recipient of both a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant and a MFA Fellowship at the Headlands Center for the Arts. His recent Bay Area exhibitions include Catharine Clark Gallery, Townsend Center for the Humanities, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Southern Exposure, Marx and Zavattero Gallery, and SF MOMA Artist Gallery. Hall received his BFA from the California College of the Arts and his MFA from Mills College. He has taught at Creative Growth Art Center, Mills College, UC Berkeley, and Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art and has participated on the curatorial board at Southern Exposure in San Francisco and the board of Creative Growth Art Center. Hall is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Design at California State University East Bay. He currently lives and works in Berkeley, California with his partner, the artist Julia Goodman, and their child.
Residency: June 2025 - September 2025
Art Exhibition: Friday, September 12 & Saturday, September 13 & Tuesday, September 16