Bloody hands lie on heaving chests, its crimson colour soaks into crisp white dresses staining them fleshy shades of pink. Dozens of eyes lurk within the darkness; watching, waiting, judging as one harmonious choir of voyeurism. Severed ears bloom from tender flower stems, catching whispers hidden within the wind. Roses prick their thorns into bare feet as you traverse this dark surrealist realm. As you catch your breath, you watch as naked trees shudder at the sight of this rotting, gory landscape. For as eerie as this place feels, you find it strangely warm and inviting, like crawling back into a motherly womb…
Michelle Avery Konczyk, also known online under her artist name Velvet Mush, is a watercolour artist recognised for her dark surrealism paintings that explore themes of beauty, femininity and the macabre. Her paintings, many of which are self-portraits, combine stark black backgrounds with more naturalistic scenery and subjects to create a chiaroscuro effect within her work. Her body of work is further enhanced by her use of framing as she mounts her paintings onto ornate, handmade and vintage frames alongside utilising other found objects and boxes.
Art has always played an important role throughout Michelle’s life. As she grew into her teens her artistic passions continued to burn brighter. When she wasn’t at school, she’d spend all of her free time learning her craft. Like many budding artists, Michelle first believed that a formal art education would be the next step on her journey.
After spending two years in a community college, she finally realised that this wasn’t the right path for her and decided to drop out of university and instead put all her energy into pursuing art on a more personal level. Since making this transition, Michelle has continued to hone in her skills as a watercolour artist and has gained a lot of traction across social media for her beautifully macabre works.
Michelle Avery Konczyk is currently represented by Bender Gallery. For more information please visit their website.
Interview with Michelle Avery Konczyk
Art has always been a big part of your life. Can you tell me a bit about your earliest memories of creating art and when you realised that you wanted to become an artist?
Like many others, I didn’t set out to be an artist, it’s something that very much found me and seemed to be ingrained into my being from the jump. I have a speech impediment and at a young age my stutter was so bad it was hard to get words and sentences out. When your main issue is present in and affects every interaction you have, it’s exhausting.
Art was something I could do in secret. I have been using cryptic codes that only I know and telling stories in my art since grade school, it’s always been so much easier for me than using my words.
Who/what inspires you?
I pull all of my inspiration from what I see in the world around me. Each painting, a journal entry.
What does your creative process look like?
My creative process looks a little different every time. Sometimes an idea suddenly pops into my brain and I know I need to scribble it down. Sometimes trains of thought bring me upon an idea like opening a series of doors and suddenly, there it is. Other times, I am journaling and setting out with the intention of coming up with a painting idea. All the ways have brought me successful pieces, as well as pieces I don’t particularly like.
From there I photograph and then I use the procreate app to scribble over the reference photo until I have my idea, my composition, and my painting shape finalized. Oftentimes I get my wood shape made before I start to work on the painting. This way I can trace the paper to the wood and make it all line up perfectly. After that, the fun part starts, the painting part!
One thing I really love about your work is how you mix body horror and darker themes with nature and feminine aesthetics to create something both delicate and unnerving. Could you say that your work reflects what it’s like to be a woman?
I would say that these days, all of my work is about what it’s like to be a woman. The past few years, I’ve learned how people preach things for popularity but when push comes to shove, they actually don’t care at all and will go with whatever is happening as long as they are fine and/or benefiting from it themselves. It’s terrifying. I now understand how my country is where it is. I understand how the witch trials happened. I understand where extreme hate for Taylor Swift comes from. And all I can do is paint about it.
Eyes are a reoccurring motif throughout your work. What draws you to painting eyes specifically? Is it the fact that eyes are often called the window to the soul?
When an eye appears on a person, I am telling you how the person feels on the inside. When an eye appears on something surrounding a person, it is a glaring, judgmental eye, that is watching your every move and waiting for you to mess up.
Framing isn’t something I always see or consider when looking at art, but your work really highlights how beautiful and ornate framing can be! Is framing just as important as the artwork itself? Or perhaps it’s an extension of your artwork?
The shapes of my painting were originally inspired by ornate vintage mirrors, which I’ve been collecting since highschool. I initially wanted to frame all of my work but when I was 20, I couldn’t afford frames. Luckily at the time, I had a full wood shop at home with piles and piles of scrap wood for the taking. I asked my dad to show me how to cut my own shapes and from there, I just ran with it!
During this process, I’ve found that the unique shapes invite the viewer into the piece as if you are peering inside a mirror into another dimension. It also allows me to give you little details on the side of the paintings, like editor notes on the margins on your word document, that might give you some more clues to the meaning behind the piece. I like that the shapes take on a different feeling on your wall than a rectangular frame would, and I think that presence is something that can’t be matched when I make prints and frame them.
Given the macabre nature of your work, what do you hope audiences can take away with them after viewing your work?
I am currently on tour with The Oddities and Curiosities Expo, and in every city I go to, people come up to tell me how connected they feel with my work. I think the human experience is very similar and I love that I can sit and paint about my pain and struggles and have another person see it and say “ow, me too”. I think it’s normal to feel isolated in these types of emotions and I love how my work seems to create a space that is comforting to people who have been through dark things.
Michelle Avery Konczyk Social Media Accounts
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