Michael D. Bigger was a internationally recognized artist who created large, colorful metal compositions. Bigger also led a successful career as charismatic teacher at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. A former colleague once said, “Watching him work alone on a piece was like watching a ballet with a crane.” (also Brad Jirka) 

In a 45-year exhibition career, he has displayed his work in galleries and museums in New York City, Chicago, Mexico City, and throughout Texas. His work has been featured in corporate and museum collections around the country, including the Oakland Museum of Art, Cincinnati Zoological Society, Vassar College, and the San Antonio Museum of Art. In Minnesota, he exhibited at Franconia Sculpture Park and the Western Sculpture Park in St. Paul, among other sites. 

Michael Bigger was “a sculptor’s sculptor, a fearless maker of large-scale work,” said MCAD colleague Brad Jirka in a statement. (from Askart.com)

As an artist, Bigger was a builder rather than a storyteller. His work was generally concerned with form, space, proportion, and materials rather than communicating a narrative idea. Through his sculptural work, he explored implied motion, balance, and the intersection and penetration of different elements. Large-scale work was his favorite form of expression; he believed that sculpture should command the viewer’s attention and stir the imagination. (from https://www.csbsju.edu/news/bigger-exhibit)