Michelle McMahan

Michelle McMahan grew up in two cultures - Brazil and the U.S. The mixture of the two creates in her a third culture. Her cross-cultural vision and sensitivity generates artistic expressions that are unique and yet universally appealing.

Michelle’s artistic interests emerged early in life. Her parents filled every home they had with great art and music. She studied dentistry in Brazil and then worked as a dentist in the U.S. But throughout her life, art and beauty have been the air she breathes. The meticulous style of her work reflects a passion for minuscule elements of the natural world. Most people overlook these details, but Michelle brings them to life.

Her work with reclaimed wood and metals developed first in Brazil. There she found amazing beauty in the abandoned Peroba wood that had been used in the 1930s to build homes for coffee growers in northern Paraná, a state in southern Brazil. Today she is also incorporating exotic woods from around the world, which add an amazing array of colors and textures to her abstract work. Restoring beauty and design to wood once left to rot is an expression of her ability to see beauty and value in every person.

Her work has been displayed in galleries, homes, and architects‘ offices in Colorado and Brazil. In 2014, her wood assemblage titled "Paradox" won the Best of Show award in The Abstract Show at Cottonwood Center for the Arts (Colorado Springs). Her work, including handmade furniture, has appeared in nationally distributed Brazilian design magazines and books. Michelle’s work was first displayed at the Architecture and Engineering Club of Londrina, Paraná in 2010.