Michael Haykin was born and educated in Munich, Germany, while his family was in military service for the United States.  He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. His work is influenced by his extensive and ongoing travel throughout the United States, South and Central America and the South Pacific.

In addition to his annual one and two person shows at galleries, Haykin's work has been shown at the Holter Museum of Fine Art in Helena, Montana; The Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana; Helander Gallery in Palm Beach; the Works Gallery in Southampton, NY and the Limbo Gallery in New York City. He has also previously exhibited with Holly Solomon Gallery in New York City.

"Michael Haykin is one of the most refreshing and compelling realist painters working today. Whether it’s in his heroic scaled multi-paneled compositions, or his smaller easel-sized paintings, Michael’s veiled atmospheric perspective creates a mosaic of form and color -- elevating the artist’s portraits and everyday scenes of landscapes into a surreal, dream-like world of soft personal expression. Haykin’s aesthetic is perfectly matched to his ambition as a painter of the West, and I’ve observed that his canvases appeal to lovers of contemporary abstraction as well as those whose
inclinations tilt toward traditional realism. On the surface the work appears to be straight forward and representational, but on closer examination one finds the paintings filled with images drawn from explorations of the artist’s internal narrative and personal mythology. I am very excited that Michael has relocated from Key West to Tucson and will be adding his enormous talent to the collective artistic genius of our region."
Robert E. Knight, Executive Director, Tucson Museum of Art

Artist's Statement
"I am a painter of realism, whose interest in observing the changing moment provides the structure for my work. While my paintings are composed with formal considerations, the focus is on the changing nature of a landscape or a figure.  The surface of a painting is built of micro-layers of pigment allowing light and atmosphere to subtly shift, giving the image a shimmering translucency. It is as if the objects in my work provide a backdrop against which I am painting the air."

One Person Exhibitions
2008 Mark Sublette Modern, Tucson, AZ
2007 Swanson Gallery, Helena, MT
2006 Swanson Gallery, Helena, MT
2006 Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT - July 15, 2006 - January 15, 2007
2005 Swanson Gallery, Helena, MT
2005 Samarah Gallery, Whitefish, MT
2004 Wren Gallery, Key West, FL
2003 Wren Gallery, Key West, FL
2003 Holter Museum of Fine Art, Helena, MT
2002,2001,2000 - Gingerbread Square Gallery, Key West
2001,2000 - Montana Trails Gallery
2000 - Water Street Gallery
1999 - Toucan Gallery, Billings, MT
1998 - Holter Museum of Fine Art, Helena, MT
1998 - Gallery on Greene, Key West
1997 - Silver Bow Center of the Arts, Butte, MT
1995 - Kennedy Gallery, Nantucket, MA
1992,93,94,95 - Lucky Street Gallery, Key West
1986,87 - Fred Gros Gallery, Key West
1986 - 112 Green Street Gallery, New York
1985 - Limbo Gallery, New York
1985 - Lincoln Gallery, Vero Beach, FL
1981,83,84 - Works Gallery, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions
2007 Mark Sublette Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2002 - Water Street Gallery
2000 - Key West Museum of Art
1998 - Ennis Gallery
1997,98 - Holter Museum of Fine Art, Helena, MT
1997 - Montana Trails Gallery
1997 - Toucan Gallery, Billings, MT
1995 - Helander Gallery, Palm Beach
1995 - Gallery One, Naples, FL
1988,89,90,91,92,93 - Lucky Street Gallery, Key West
1987,91,92,93 - Martello Museum, Key West
1986 - 112 Greene St Gallery, New York
1980,87,94 - Works Gallery, Southhampton, NY

Honors & Awards
1998 - Artists in the National Parks Residency, Joshua Tree Nat'l Park, CA
1996,97 - Anne Mckee Artists Fund Grant Recipient, Key West1995,97,98
Montana Artists Refuge Residency, Basin, MT

Publications
Tucson Lifestyle  Nov/Dec 2007 (click here for article)
Western Art and Architecture Jan 2008
Art in America February 2007 (click here for article)