At the tail end of the 1960s after fruitful years in Paris and New York, Michael Todd left the gray tones and hard-edges of the city and moved to San Diego to teach at UCSD. Inspired by the comparatively psychedelic colors of the California landscape, combined with the opportunity to explore industrial materials, Todd used spray paint to create a dynamic body of work that he continues to revisit periodically throughout his career. 

Michael Todd was included in historically important exhibitions such as “Primary Structures” at the Jewish Museum in 1966 and “Sculpture of the Sixties” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1967. This set him on a path of notoriety for his sculptures overshadowing his rigorous and simultaneous painting practice. His work is in permanent collections throughout the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Whitney Museum in New York City, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

These seminal spray paintings were completed between 1969- 1971 are are being viewed and offered for the first time.