Michael is a practicing artist and Ph.D. candidate with his research focusing on humor in contemporary art at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He received his B.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and M.F.A. in painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he was the recipient of the SAIC Graduate Fellowship. He has worked as an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an advisor at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has exhibited his work across the US as well as Cologne, Thessaloniki, Coimbra, and Madrid. He recently moved from New York to Madrid to conduct his research and explore all of the amazing history and art the city has to offer.