Flame Skimmer

Artist | Michael Young

Michael Young is a Chicago artist specializing in site-specific public sculpture and light-based work. For over thirty years, Young’s customized artwork and design have appeared in numerous public and private collections across the United States and abroad.  

Highlights include permanent exhibition design for the National Smithsonian Air and Space Museum along with corporations (McDonalds, Hyatt Hotels, RDD Tokyo), schools (including Ballou Senior High School and River Terrace Special Education Center in Washington DC, Carthage College in Wisconsin), and private collections.

From concept to installation, Young’s aesthetic reflects the values and interests of each sculpture’s site and surrounding community. After studying science - primarily botany and ecology – while obtaining a Bachelors degree at University of Wisconsin at Madison, Young’s work with organic-forms suggests the interdependence of environmental elements. Skilled in materials ranging from aluminum, bronze, and stainless steel to wood, glass, and light, Young’s work is self-fabricated at Sedgwick Studio, a local metal fabrication studio.