Michael Knapstein
Biographical Info Michael Knapstein (b.1956) is a fine-art photographer who has earned international recognition for his insightful and nuanced visual exploration of the American Midwest. A Wisconsin native, he now lives in Middleton, Wisconsin with his wife, Annette, who is also an artist. Michael was counted among “14 Inspiring American Artists” by Skillshare and Feature Shoot. The Barcelona Foto Biennale (Barcelona, Spain) named him the International Landscape Photographer of the Year. The Moscow International Foto Awards (Moscow, Russia) named him the International Portfolio Photographer of the Year. The Pollux Awards (Kent, England) twice named him their Grand Prize Winner. And Photolucida (Portland, Oregon) named him a Critical Mass Finalist four times (widely considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious portfolio competitions). His photographs were also included in the WVA’s 2018 and 2020 Wisconsin Artists Biennial exhibitions. His work is included in numerous public, private and corporate collections, including the George Eastman International Museum of Photography (Rochester, NY), Dubuque Museum of Art (Dubuque, IA), Racine Art Museum (Racine, WI), PNC Bank (Pittsburg, PA) American Girl (Middleton, WI), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Chippewa Falls, WI) and The Sierra Club (Madison, WI). Michael’s photographs began attracting national attention while he was still in high school. At the age of 17, he was the youngest photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Steenbock Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters in Madison, Wisconsin. The following year his work was accepted into the permanent collections of the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography in Rochester, NY and Nikon House in NYC. While attending college, his work continued to win national recognition and was included in the Photographic Society of America’s prestigious Young Photographer’s Showcase national traveling exhibit for three years in a row. After graduating from the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Knapstein began a 30+ year career in the world of advertising. He held a variety of creative and leadership positions, ultimately heading one of Wisconsin’s largest advertising agencies. These years helped hone his use of design, eye movement tracking, semiotics and storytelling – all skills that he now applies to his photography. Knapstein sold his agency and retired from the demanding world of advertising in 2010 to return to his first love of photography. Since this reemergence, Michael’s work has been recognized with more than 350 awards in some of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions, including the Royal Photographic Society (England), Prix de la Photographie Paris (France), Les Rencontres d’Arles (France), Grand Prix de la Decouverte (France), Photography Masters Cup (England), Moscow International Foto Awards (Russia), Tokyo International Foto Awards (Japan), LensCulture (Netherlands), Black and White Spider Awards (England), Head On Photo Festival (Australia), Lucie International Photography Awards (Los Angeles, CA), New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC), Photo L.A. (Los Angeles, CA), Center for Photographic Art (Carmel, CA), Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins, CO), Communication Arts (Menlo Park, CA), Camera USA (Naples, FL) and National Geographic (Washington, D.C.). Knapstein’s photographs have been widely published and exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, including Aberystwyth, Bath, Belfast, East Sussex, London, Oxford and Stafford (all UK), Arles and Paris (France), Barcelona and Malaga (Spain), Moscow and Novorossiysk (Russia), Athens and Chania (Greece), Buenos Aries (Argentina), Berlin (Germany),Budapest (Hungary), Rome (Italy), Simferopol (Crimea), Sydney (Australia) and Tokyo (Japan). In the United States, his work has been exhibited in New York (New York), Carmel, Half Moon Bay, Long Beach, Modesto, Oceanside, San Diego and San Francisco (all California), Essex Junction and Middlebury (Vermont), , Albuquerque (New Mexico), Dubuque (Iowa), Fort Collins (Colorado), Johnson City (Texas), Naples (Florida), Portland (Oregon) as well as Madison, Milwaukee, Prairie du Sac, Racine, Spring Green, Stevens Point and West Bend (all Wisconsin).
Level South Central Wisconsin Chapter
Membership Type Professional