Michael Branca is a contemporary artist. His media and subject matter range from fantastical oil paintings to plein air landscapes to tiny conceptual assemblages. His work addresses feelings of (dis)connectedness with nature, and attempts to find beauty, joy and humor in the unexpected, mundane and common.

Branca was born in Massachusetts. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and did his undergraduate studies at Colby College and Temple University Rome. He has been awarded residencies at Skowhegan, Vermont Studio Center and Monhegan's Carina House. He teaches art at Southern Maine Community College and Maine College of Art, and also runs independent workshops through Backcountry Art Trips. His work shows regularly in prominant and obscure galleries and museums throughout the Northeast.

Statement:
Wild nature and human society do not share a tidy border. Weeds emerge from cracks in the sidewalk while roads and pollution find their way to the remotest wildernesses. Human relationships with nature are often problematic. We feel separate but know we are not. Wilderness may represent calm and safety or a fearful place of mystery and isolation.

Utilizing traditional painting methods and other routes, I explore the particularly Western problem of culture versus nature, and work to make peace with this paradox.