Using the coup de crayon (or pencil stroke) that he inherited from both his father and grandfather, Mike channels a style that’s a mix of comic art, graffiti, and anime. He brings his unique perspective and worldview to life with his vivid characterizations and visual stories.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

“My artistic lens was honed from a very early age, as a result of a colorful family background. As an American with immigrant parents, I grew up watching the dynamic of a mother and father from diametrically opposed cultures. Furthering my textured upbringing was being raised as the youngest of four children and as the only boy in the family. I grew to appreciate the balance needed to even out life’s extremes, and I learned to recognize the grey areas in any situation.

To me, at our cores, we are all more similar than different.

Whether through humor, social critique, a bearing of my soul, or imagery through the abstract, I do my best to convey my thoughts and feelings visually in a way that words cannot always express. In the process, I hope to create something that might add to someone’s day or uplift a person spiritually and emotionally or perhaps bring light to darkness. If my art is capable of a fraction of that, then I am at peace with my passion.”

BIO

Mike Rohner was born and raised in San Jose, CA by a Korean mother and Swiss father, and has since lived in Colorado Springs, Chicago, Kitakyushu (Japan), and Los Angeles. He currently resides in Santa Fe, NM.

The youngest in an eclectic family mix, he was the observer and beneficiary of the diverse life paths and philosophies of his family. This background fostered his thirst for growth and expanded his consciousness. He continuously learned from a variety of people, places, cultures, and artists. A pilgrimage to Peru in 2007 emboldened him with a deeper appreciation for the mysteries in life and the beauties within.

His mother, a descendant of a long line of farmers in rural Korea, had careers as a professional pianist, model, and business woman. His father, representing a family of mostly artists and musicians in Neuchatel, Switzerland, forfeited his passion for music in favor of a career designing computers for 3-D graphics, gaining a degree in Electrical Engineering from the prestigious Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich (where Einstein once taught).

His stepfather is an entrepreneur from Bangalore, India. Of his three sisters, one dances professionally, another dabbled in comedic and stage acting, and the third sister sang professionally for many years.

Mike earned a B.A. in Sociology from Colorado College with minors in Asian Studies and Urban Studies.