Marco Michel (b. 2000) is a multimedia artist and art worker based in Brooklyn. Her self-taught practice includes painting, fiber arts, drawing, textile design, photography, and writing. In her paintings, Marco seeks to capture drama and whimsy in her playful portraiture and expressive still life depictions.

Ostensibly campy and belonging to a highly stylized world of her imagination, Marco’s portraita express the essence of femininity and masquerade, taking inspiration from clowns, drag queens, and queer culture. Neither realistic nor abstracted, Marco’s paintings—much like her subjects—belong to a chasm in between reality and idealized fantasy, calling into question the contradictory nature of existing to perform or performing to exist.