Koerner, Michael

American, b. 1963

BiographyMichael Koerner is the only surviving child of five sons born to his mother, who was a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. She and all four of his brothers succumbed to a genetic disorder attributed to gamma ray exposure. As an organic chemist fairly new to the practice of artmaking, Koerner’s work interprets his family history and trauma by creating unique collodion photograms on six-by-eight-inch tin plates. By blowing photographic chemicals through a straw or dripping and layering agents onto the surface of tin plates, Koerner uses his body to simulate explosions, effects of radiation, and cellular deformations, pondering the battlefield sustained within the lives of his family members decades after the blast.

Michael Koerner’s work is held in the collections of the Sir Elton John Collection, Atlanta, GA; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; and the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL. He held first solo exhibition at the Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago in 2018.