Michelle Avery Konczyk
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Local artist Michelle Avery Konczyk (aka Velvet Mush) explores the beauty of the macabre through tightly rendered, naturalistic paintings. Working primarily in watercolor, Konczyk employs bold black backgrounds that contrast with the lightness of her medium to achieve a beautiful sense of volume, a chiaroscuro effect she enhances by mounting her paintings onto elegantly cut wood panels, into found objects, and boxes. Her work is dark, romantic, psychological, and often incorporates vaguely autobiographical elements through nuanced layers of meaning.
A self-taught painter and poet, Konczyk has been showing with Arch Enemy Arts since 2017. She has presented two solo features, one collaborative exhibition, and her work appears in multiple group exhibitions with the gallery each year.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
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'FROM WITHIN OURSELVES WE SEE' (dual exhibition • Dec. 2020)
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'LES FLEURS' (June 2018)
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'O'NIGHT' (September 2017)
Catalog of works.
Below is a list of all works from solo and group exhibitions. Any pieces marked with a red dot have been sold.
"I Thought I Was Fading" (2024) watercolor on paper mounted to cut wood panel 22" x 30" $8000 USD
"All-seeing Queen" watercolor on paper mounted to cut panel, varnished 11.5" x 21" $2000 USD
“Everyday Poison / Nine of Swords” (2023) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 19" x 40" $4500 USD
"Fire Eyes" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to cut wood board 7 x 7" $325 USD
"Je Ne Suis Pas Belle" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 17 x 11" $1200 USD
"The Remaining" (2018) watercolor on paper, mounted to wood, varnished 29.5"w x 21.5"h $3800 USD
"Through The Winter I" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to wood 7 x 8.5" $250 USD
"It Echoes From Underground" 2024 Watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut wood panel and tied together 12" x 12" $2,000 USD
"Dark Side" (2024) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood, chains 16" x 21" $1000 USD
"It Echoes Forever" (2023) Watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel and varnished 12" x 12" $1400 USD
"Eye 1 (red)" watercolor on cut paper mounted to custom cut wood panel 3" x 7" $250 USD
"Eye 3 (black)" watercolor on cut paper mounted to custom cut wood panel 9.5" x 4" $250 USD
"Eye 2 (leaf)" watercolor on cut paper mounted to custom cut wood panel 6" x 5" $250 USD
"Rosebud Blue, Watching You" (2022) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood panel 7" x 16" $1200 USD
& Caitlin McCormack "Mister Velvet (Watching A Bath)" (2021) spray varnished watercolor on paper, crocheted cotton string, glue, steel pins, velvet, antique frame 10.5" x 24" x 3.5" $1800 USD
"From Within Ourselves We See II" a collaboration (2020) watercolor on paper, hand-beaded flowers, mounted on panel 6.5" x 23" x 2" $1100 USD
"From Within Ourselves We See I" a collaboration (2020) watercolor on paper, hand-beaded flowers, mounted on panel 6.5" x 23" x 2" $1100 USD
"Eye and Flowers" (2020) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood panel, varnished and tied together with string 5" x 8" $375 USD
"Sister Eye 1" (2020) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood panel, varnished and tied together with string 10" x 5" $250 USD
"Sister Eye 2" (2020) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood panel, varnished and tied together with string 10" x 5" $250 USD
"What I Keep in Tiny Boxes" (2020) watercolor on paper, spray varnished, mounted in antique printing tray 15" x 7.5" $1300 USD
"Sad Eye" (2020) watercolor on paper, mounted to custom cut wood panel, varnished and tied together with string 4" x 7" $300 USD
"Eye Plant" (2019) watercolor on paper 2.5 x 3.5" framed to 5.5 x 4" $175 USD
"Blues and Roses" (2019) watercolor on paper, mounted to handcut wood panel, varnished 16 x 9" $800 USD
"The Gatekeepers" (2019) watercolor on paper 16 x 13" $975 USD
"Keeper of The Forest" (2019) watercolor 10 x 10" $750 USD
"Flame Eye" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to cut wood board 4.5 x 4.5" $145 USD
"Eye Flames I" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to cut wood board 4.5 x 4.5" $125 USD
"Eye Flames II" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to cut wood board 4.5 x 4.5" $125 USD
"It Felt Like The Truth" (2018) watercolor 12.5 x 10" $900 USD
"Fading" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 5 x 11" $275 USD
"And Fading" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 5 x 11" $275 USD
"Baby's Breath" (2018) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 5 x 11" $175 USD
"Through The Winter II" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to wood 7 x 8.5" $250 USD
"Growing" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 15.5 x 9" $350 USD
"And Growing" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 15.5 x 9" $350 USD
"Closed" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 5.5 x 7.5" $175 USD
"Opened" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut panel 5.5 x 7.5" $175 USD
"Opened Wide" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to custom cut 9 x 11" $500 USD
"In The Shadows" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to panel 11 x 8" $450 USD
"But Not Always" (2017) watercolor on paper mounted to panel 13 x 10.5" $800 USD
"Flowers, Fingers, and Ears" (2017) watercolor 10 x 17" $450 USD
"Leaves, Fingers, and Ears" (2017) watercolor 10 x 17" $450 USD