Michael Ezra (b. 1972) is a visual artist whose practice bridges the analytical precision of theoretical physics with the classical tradition of figurative sculpture.

Educated in Theoretical Physics and Painting at Tbilisi State University, and later working as a Software Architect, Ezra approaches the human form with a rigorous structural mindset. He treats the figure not as subject of portraiture, but as variable subject to systematic investigation—examining how complementary opposites organize into stable equilibrium. This computational mode of thinking informs the entire practice, most explicitly in the Conditionals series, where form is subjected to algorithmic “If / Then / Otherwise” logic.

Installation of Figurative Structures, 2016.

For over two decades, this inquiry was conducted through photography. Beginning in 1999, working in medium format film, Ezra developed the Figurative Structures system—a methodical investigation treating the body as structural variable within geometric constraints. From 2000–2010, this work was extensively shared on photo.net, the era’s preeminent photography forum, where images garnered over twenty million views (and 1.5 million on photosight.ru, one of Russia’s largest art-focused photography communities), generating significant discussion among serious practitioners worldwide.

During this period, the formal vocabulary was developed independently of historical formalist precedents, emerging instead from computational thinking applied to classical form. Triangles and Horizontals isolated fundamental geometric principles—angular and continuous. Continuum and Reflections achieved synthesis through complementary operations: formal integration of discrete elements and psychological recognition that the self emerges through integration of opposing aspects. Asymptote, Limits, and Conditionals then investigated equilibrium under varied constraints—external, internal, and algorithmic.

The transition to digital capture in 2003–2006 allowed greater experimental freedom, particularly in Conditionals, where digital manipulation became integral to the algorithmic investigation. The resulting monochromatic works—defined by volumetric illumination, near-orthographic projection, and geometric precision—have been widely exhibited and held in private collections internationally.

Currently, Ezra has returned to the medium of his original intent: physical sculpture. Translating photographic investigations into tangible form, he employs traditional hand-modeling and casting, with photogrammetry documentation enabling archival precision and future production flexibility. His latest series, Stillness, Held, manifests these structural principles as three-dimensional form where equilibrium must be physically sustained.

Studio production of Stillness, Held: Tacit, 2025.