Michael Katz is an American artist whose work has received numerous grants and awards, including a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a commission for 7 paintings by the Miami-Dade Art in Public Places program, Miami, Florida. His work has been featured in exhibitions and public and private collections including the Drawing Center, New York; The Hand Art Center, Stetson University, DeLand Florida; Touchstone Gallery, New York; White Columns Online, New York, New York; Alt_space, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; Toledo Museum of Art Toledo, Ohio; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Westwood Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Miami Metropolitan Museum and Art Center Miami, Florida; Fort Lauderdale Museum of the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana and The Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida. "My work began with the realization that much of what we know about the world comes from seeing photographs. The proliferation of images continues to grow with the development of the Internet and digital technology. Actual and virtual experiences now merge. People who look at my artwork often question what they are seeing. They are digital images, inkjet printed with permanent pigments on canvas of various sizes. Technology has always driven art-making in new directions. The influence of mediums, such as blood, fresco, egg tempera, oil, and acrylic paint, are examples used in the past. I am fortunate to be among artists, such as Richard Hamilton and David Hockney, who began using digital technology as an art medium. I take my own digital photographs, use my traditional drawing and painting skills, and virtual painting software in my practice. I don't consider my works as prints because of their relationship to painting. Each image is a unique experience. I do not print editions. Technology has made actual and virtual experience transparent. This is the new and fascinating territory I investigate." "Don't let words limit your experience of life." Alan Watts Michael Katz earned a B.F.A, studio art, and an M.A. painting and printmaking at Kent State University. He teaches drawing and visual concepts at Stetson University.