Artist Bio – Michele Renee Gort
Michele Renee Gort is a painter living and working in Holland, Michigan. Deeply inspired by the ever-changing shoreline of Lake Michigan, her work moves between expressive abstraction and atmospheric landscape painting. Drawing from the light, movement, and vast horizons of Michigan’s coast—as well as time spent along the Florida shoreline—Gort creates layered compositions that capture both the emotional resonance of place and the tactile energy of paint. Her work invites viewers to experience the landscape not as a literal depiction, but as an atmosphere—expansive, contemplative, and immersive.
Gort is a featured artist at Synchronicity Gallery and Button Gallery. She is a published artist with Third and Wall and is represented by River City Art Solutions, collaborating with architects, designers, and private collectors. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout Michigan in both solo and group exhibitions, including solo exhibitions at Button Gallery and a featured exhibition at Uptown Gallery (2020), where her paintings were paired with music that inspired their creation. Michele has all had various shows at Holland Art Council throughout her career.
A dedicated participant in ArtPrize, Gort has exhibited in nine installations of the international competition. Her 2011 triptych Anticipation was recognized as a Top 25 entry in the Monroe District. In 2019, her painting Moody was selected for the Michigan Juried Art Exhibition, and she received First Prize in the 2017 Tulips in Bloom Contest for Playful Time. Her large-scale abstract work Gestalt was featured in ArtPrize 2014.
Gort’s paintings are included in numerous private, corporate, and healthcare collections, including Holland Hospital, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Mercy Hospital, Corewell Health Centers, Metro East, and Winning At Home, among others—reflecting the restorative and contemplative qualities of her work.
She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from Kendall College of Art and Design, where she received scholarships and the 2001 Studio Elect Award.