Kent Mikalsen is a professionally trained visual artist whose multi-dimensional work also includes experience as a designer and concept artist in architecture, visual effects for feature films, animation and entertainment park design.
He grew up in NYC and completed his education in Florida, earning an MFA in sculpture from the University of Florida. During graduate school, Kent was considered a rising star. He was selected for prestigious national and regional shows, permanent collections in major museums and received commissions for large outdoor sculptures.
At the height of his promising career as an artist, Kent became disillusioned with his unbridled and unfulfilling personal life. Seeking more meaning, he moved into an ashram for ten years to study yoga, meditation and other transformational practices. This experience had a profound effect on his inner life and his art. His work became a meditation on the nature of non-physical reality. An unresolved dialogue of opposites still remains between his pursuit of the ethereal and his large, often heavy, sculptures. This paradox still resides at the core of his work.
Kent lives in western Massachusetts and has studios there and in Florida.
Art Website: www.kentmikalsen.com
Design Website: www.kentmikalsenstudio.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kent_mikalsen
KENT MIKALSEN
KENT MIKALSEN
Art: www.kentmikalsen.com Design: www.kentmikalsenstudio.com
www.instagram.com/kent_mikalsen
P. O. Box 181 West Stockbridge, MA 01266
413 652 4801 kentmikalsen@gmail.com
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
(* Solo Show, **Two to Four Person Show)
2025 Artful Mind Gallery, North Adams, MA
2025 “Sculpture at the Mount” annual outdoor sculpture show (Lenox, MA).
2025 Mixed Media Space from Ground Art Studio, North Adams,MA.
2022 “Visual Evidence” show, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
2021 Rockwell Museum, Outdoor Sculpture Show, Stockbridge, MA
2021 Becket Arts Center, Becket, MA
2020 “Art in the Hills” show, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
2020 Powerhouse Square Exhibition Space, Great Barrington, MA
2016* Mass College of Liberal Arts DSA Show, North Adams, MA
2016 IS183 Faculty Show, Stockbridge, MA
2014* Six Depot Gallery, West Stockbridge, MA
2011 *Welles Gallery, Lenox, MA
2010**Stack Gallery, North Adams, MA
2010 Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY.
2009 Contemporary Gallery, Syracuse, NY.
2008 Kolok Gallery, North Adams, MA.
2007 *Gallery 51, North Adams, MA.
2007 *Eclipse Mill Gallery, North Adams, MA.
2005 Opalka Gallery Faculty Show, Albany,NY.
2002 Vermont Carving Studio Annual Show, Rutland, Vermont.
2002. 53rd Annual Art of the Northeast Exhibition, (juried, Ann Temkin,
Philadelphia Museum of Art) Silvermine Guild, New Canaan, CT.
2002 Southern Vermont Art Center Annual Outdoor Sculpture Show, Manchester, VT.
2001 *Tunnel City Gallery, North Adams, Massachusetts.
PUBLIC ART
2020 Outdoor Sculpture, Waubeeka Country Club, Williamstown, MA.
2005 Mural, Indianapolis Zoo Dolphin Exhibit, Indianapolis, IN.
2002 Sculpture, Bank North, North Adams, MA.
2002. Outdoor Sculpture, Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT.
1992 Outdoor Sculpture, Privately Funded, Bellingham, Washington.
1980 Outdoor Sculpture, Funded by Kripalu Center, Summit Station, Pennsylvania.
1974 Outdoor Sculpture, Funded by University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
COLLECTIONS
Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina.
University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
St. Augustine Museum of Art, St. Augustine, Florida.
PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
2011-Present, Design Consultant, Kent Mikalsen Studio
Concept Art and Design for regional redevelopment, international resorts and entertain-ment parks. Clients include: Universal Studios, Adirondack Studios, McBride Design, Wuhan Entertainment Park, China Film Group, Hualong Digital Productions, Kripalu Cen-ter for Yoga and Health and various regional developers and architects.
2012 Adjunct Professor of Film
University of Massachusetts, Media and Motion Graphics.
2009-2011, Adjunct Professor of Architecture
Hudson Valley Community College, Architectural Rendering.
2004-2011, Assistant Professor of Art and Design
Department of Art, The Sage Colleges, Albany , NY.
Teaching and program development. Courses include: Rendering, Perspective, 2D and 3D Design, Design Drawing, Senior Design, Space Planning, iThink and others in the Inte-rior Design Program. Figure Drawing, Senior Drawing, Illustration, Visualization, and oth-ers in the Art Program.
1995-2002 Supervising Art Director
Kleiser-Walczak, NYC, Hollywood, North Adams, MA.
A Premier Animation and Digital Effects Studio. Creative Development, Production Design, Art Direction, Design Presentation. Projects include: “Spiderman Ride”, Universal Studi-os, (Eddy Award for art direction). Corkscrew Hill, Busch Entertainment. “Monsters of Grace” a digital opera by Phillip Glass and Robert Wilson. “Future Journey”, Film for German Public Transportation, Hanover 2000 Worlds Fair. Numerous commercials in-cluding: Pepsi, Dodge, Bridgestone, Tivo, Stardox, (Monitor Award for Art Direction).
1992-1995, Art Director
Mass Illusion, Lenox, MA. A Visual Effects Studio, Feature Films and Major Entertainment Venues, Art Direction and Design, Supervising the construction of models and live sets. Projects include: Doug Trumbull’s “Secrets of Luxor”, Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas. Feature films: “Evita”, “Judge Dredd”, “Eraser”, “Evening Star” and others.
1983-1992, Design Graphics Consultant
Sumneytown, PA. Architectural Illustration, Presentations, Concept Design, and Profes-sional Seminars.
International Architectural and Corporate Clients include: The Hillier Group, Swanke Hay-den and Connell, Helmuth Obata Kassabaum, Daroff Design, The Franklin Institute,
Herman Miller, IBM, Macys, The Sheraton, Donald Trump, Westinghouse, GE, Bell Atlan-tic, Cheju World 21 in South Korea and the Osaka World Fair.
1981-1983, Art Director
Hambrecht Terrel International, Architects, NYC,
Created, hired and trained the art department, supervising and creating architectural illus-trations and Presentations for major retail Stores and international architectural clients in-cluding Macys, Saks, Bloomingdales, Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein as well as architectural projects throughout the world.
1979-1981, Instructor
Montgomery County Community College Department of Art, Blue Bell, PA.
Authored grants for the graphic arts program as well as teaching art Courses such as Ty-pography, Commercial Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Ceramics, Sculpture, Figure Draw-ing, 2-D Design.
Previous
Instructor Design, University of Florida Department of Architecture
Instructor, Technical Drawing, Santa Fe Community College
Teacher, Industrial Art, Buchholtz H.S.
SCREENINGS (selected)
2001. “Santa Lights Up New York”, 3D Animated film for Radio City Music Hall’s
Christmas Spectacular, Production Design and Art Direction.
2001 “Corkscrew Hill”, Entertainment ride, Busch Gardens, Virginia, Production
2000 “Future Journey”, Hanover 2000 World Fair for the German Federal
Transportation Authority, Production Design and Art Direction.
1999 “Monsters of Grace”, A digital opera by Phillip Glass and Robert Wilson,
Art Director. MoG was shown at major fine art venues throughout the world.
1999 “The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman”, Entertainment ride, Universal Studios
Islands of Adventure, Florida, Production Design and Art Direction.
AWARDS AND HONORS
2023 Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant.
2021 Artist in Residence, Domicile Domes.
2020 to present Board of Directors, Kripalu Yoga Institute.
2011 Studio Visit, National Juried Catalog for museums, galleries and collectors.
1999 Monitor Award, Art Direction.
1999 Eddy Award, Production Design.
National Young Sculptors Show
Southeastern Painting and Sculpture Show (Award)
LECTURES AND PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2020 Artist Talks, Berkshire Museum,, Pittsfield,, MA
2001 Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida.
2001 Industrial Design Society of America, Annual Conference, Boston, MA.
1998 Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Sculpture, The University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
B.A. Ceramics, The University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
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