Michael Zwack

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Michael Zwack (1949–May 5, 2017) was an American artist known for his ties to The Pictures Generation. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and studied sculpture at Buffalo State College. Zwack co-founded Hallwalls Gallery, a non-profit arts space in Buffalo, with peers including Robert Longo and Cindy Sherman; the gallery remains active today. He moved to New York City to join the city’s growing art scene.

Zwack had solo shows at major galleries in New York, such as Metro Pictures and Paul Kasmin, and at Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg, Austria. His work was included in The Pictures Generation exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009, curated by Douglas Eklund. In a 1996 Artforum piece, Rosetta Brooks described his work as using mass-media imagery to invite a contemplative look at the natural world, with images acting as vessels of deeper meaning.

Zwack died of lung cancer in New York City on May 5, 2017, at age 67.