AbD Workshop: Linear Thinking with Michael Shemchuck

About this Class

When: 9 – 5 PM | Sep 9-11, 2026
In-Person Classes at Upmarket Gallery

AbD Workshop: Linear Thinking

Expand your practice through the art of working in sequence. In this workshop, we use the Abstraction by Design (AbD) method to explore multiple series-based formats across connected panels. The first challenge is yours: choose your format. Will you create sets of diptychs or triptychs? Maybe a 4-panel series or commit to a full 8-panel linear installation? It’s your call, with the goal of creating cohesive series in tailored formats using the Abstraction by Design method of layering paint and collage, and rebuilding surfaces. You’ll push each format to its limits. Along the way, you’ll explore rhythm, balance, and color, discovering how panels speak to one another in sequence.

AbD-Abstraction by Design

Abstraction by Design (AbD) is a mixed media method rooted in the layered interplay of paper and paint applied directly to panel surfaces. Through simultaneous application, artists create a foundation that explores sanding, scraping, saturating, peeling, collaging, and repainting, often in repeated cycles. This process encourages experimentation and embraces unpredictability. Wet and dry techniques are often used side-by-side, allowing for dynamic, textured surfaces to emerge organically.