Michelle Atkinson

Michelle Atkinson is a Calgary-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores environmental systems through material-driven investigation. With a background in glass casting and over two decades in graphic design, her practice bridges structured visual language with organic and ecological subject matter. Atkinson works primarily with reclaimed and industrial materials, often selecting them for their embedded histories of extraction, use, and waste. Her sculptures and installations frequently engage endangered species and shifting landscapes, using light, transparency, and site-specific placement to create tension between presence and loss. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and outdoor installations across Western Canada, where it invites reflection on the relationship between human systems and the natural world. Rooted in research but driven by sensory experience, her practice positions material as both medium and message—revealing how environmental change is not distant, but entangled with everyday life.