Michelle Lee Rigell

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Michelle Lee Rigell is a St. Louis-based contemporary realism artist who works in acrylics and watercolor. Since 2015, Rigell has shown her work in several locations in the Greater St. Louis area, including Angad Arts Hotel, Duane Reed Gallery, and fundraising art events such as Wall Ball for Artscope and Art of PAWS presented by Purina. She has been featured on platforms such as The Jealous Curator, PxP Contemporary, and Carve Out Time For Art, as well as in publications like St. Louis Post-Dispatch and AcrylicWorks7 by Artists Magazine. Rigell also volunteers as an instructor and is the associate director of Arts As Healing Foundation, a nonprofit organization that brings the therapeutic benefits of art to cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses.


Artist Statement

Since 2016, I have been working on a project called the "1000 Crane Project" because of my childhood love for origami. When I wasn't drawing or painting, I was constantly folding origami. My goal is to capture the beauty and precision of origami while incorporating the flawed nature of wrinkled papers and used wrappers and labels of some of my favorite childhood American products.
Cranes are also a symbol of good fortune, happiness, and longevity in Korean culture. I decided on the title because of the legend that 1000 cranes could grant a person one wish or even eternal happiness. Cranes have been an apt subject matter in my life because rediscovering my passion for painting began as a way to cope with my miscarriages and difficulties with infertility. I am a firm believer that art can provide healing, and I want to be able to help others heal by providing a sense of sentimentality and humor through my art process and experiences.


https://www.michellerigell.com