MIKE FILAN

Michael Filan grew up in Brooklyn NY. The two biggest influences on his early life as an artist were his grandfathers. Grandpa Joe was a carpenter by trade but he was also a talented illustrator and cartoonist and was hired by Walt Disney. Grandpa Julius was a fashion designer. Both men took Michael under their wings and introduced him to the art-making process. 

Today, when Filan is painting or creating monotype prints, he is inspired by an engagement in spontaneity and special energy that he considers almost childlike. 

Filan’s artwork is also influenced by a love of color and the photographic quality of each print. The monotype process has influenced and informed his relationship to his paintings, integrating fluidness and approaching compositions as spontaneous combustion of energy.