For the recent show "Bavarian Odyssey" which took place last October/November at German House in New York City, Michael's works showcased the architecture—particularly the pointed rooftops—of the charming villages and cities of Bavaria. Over 200 people attended the opening reception, which was a huge success, and featured Japanese and German food, and of course, good German beer and wine.

The show was the culmination of his five years of visits to the region. Some of the images included single, powerful views of the graphic, triangular shapes made by tiled gables against the sky—others were patchworks of pattern, made by rooftops seen from above.  Still others were groupings of images of contrasting shape, color, and texture printed together, illuminating the visual affinities between buildings. Yet others focused on the rich impasto of old walls, and the abstract, almost watercolor-like effects of subtle color gradations in the crumbling brick and plaster. All celebrated the charm of traditional German architecture.

On his first trip to Bavaria to attend a friend’s wedding, Michael fell in love with the region; he returned many times and captured hundreds of images of the distinctive and colorful buildings and surrounding countryside. A year later, he was invited by the Sparkasse in Sulzbach-Rosenberg to mount an exhibition of his work, and subsequently, he has had exhibitions at the Sparkasse in Schwandorf, Neumarkt (twice), and Neustadt; he has also exhibited at the Landratsamt in Amberg, at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival, and the Wurzer-Sommerkonzerte in Wurz.  In 2005, his growing collection of images inspired the poster “Rooftops of Bavaria”. Michael also enjoyed great success at his other one-man shows in New York, at the Cast Iron Gallery, in Tokyo, at the Dentsu-Kosan Gallery, and at the Art-Life Mitsuhashi Gallery in Kyoto.

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