Biography of Michal Plis

Michal Plis is a Polish-born, Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of light, material and imagination. Through abstract paintings and innovative sculptures, he invites audiences to glimpse a personal universe shaped by scientific curiosity and spiritual reflection.

​

Born in the early 1980’s on Poland’s Pomeranian Baltic coast, Michal was introduced to art by his late mother, Renata Plis, a painter and sculptor. After migrating to Australia as a child, he continued to paint through his teenage years and was recognised as one of the top art students at his high school, Eumemmerring College (Glenagles Junior Campus Years 7 to 10 and Hallam Senior Campus Years 11 and 12, later renamed to Hallam Secondary College). During Years 11 and 12, Michal had the opportunity to be taught by two artists-in-residence with varied artistic backgrounds, which formed a strong foundation for his passion for fine art. Though encouraged by the artists-in-residence to pursue formal art education at the Victorian College of the Arts, Michal chose his own path and later spent two decades working in information technology, while art remained a private pursuit. He stopped creating art in 2010 due to the emotional attachment between his art and the loss of his mother, Renata.

​

After 12 years, in 2022, Michal returned to art with renewed purpose and discovered its therapeutic and transformative power. He began developing multispectral works that use materials to compose with light; his practice draws on optical phenomena such as fluorescence, transparency and reflectivity, combined with varied light sources to produce shifting perceptual experiences. This long-term exploration is central to his concept of “sculpting with light,” which he will reveal in the 2025 exhibition Glimpse of Another Universe.

​

Since 2024 Michal has been training at the Melbourne Studio of Art with sculptor Ilona Herrainer. Her background in contemporary sculpture and various mediums has been an important influence on his evolving practice. Alongside mentorship, Michal supplements his learning through independent research, art history study, and the selective use of generative AI tools to support both technical and conceptual development.

​

His work is inspired by nature, astronomy and the patterns woven into human life and the cosmos. Deeply influenced by a wide range of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, Stanisław Szukalski, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso and Yayoi Kusama. Michal combines intense focus with a neurodivergent perspective that shapes his unique way of seeing. He also draws from movements including Cubism, Impressionism, the Renaissance, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Suprematism and Geometric Abstraction. For Michal, light is not simply a medium but a language, a way to reveal hidden dimensions of reality.

​

His favourite inspirational song is "A Way to Focus the Mind" by The Fires of Ork (a collaboration between Biosphere & Peter Namlook). The track includes excerpts from the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Scorpion", where a holographic Leonardo da Vinci meets Captain Janeway; the scene’s themes of creativity and altered perception resonate strongly with Michal and influence how he represents experience in his work.

​

Looking ahead, Michal plans to develop large-scale paintings, sculptures and installations that embody his art movement, blending invention with expression. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he draws strength and inspiration from his faith in the Creator, Jehovah God, and seeks to honour that source through creativity. His aspiration is for a future, reflecting biblical promises for mankind, in which economic barriers no longer limit artistic expression, artists pursue ambitious projects, and collectors and the public can access and circulate art openly.