Welcome to the Michal Plis Studio blog!
I’m Michal Plis, an abstract artist based in Melbourne, Australia, and the founder of the Roundism art movement. I write this blog to share my creative process, discoveries in Roundism, and art industry insights.
Who is this for?
This publication is designed for art collectors (including art lover/general art buyers), interior designers, curators, historians, and critics seeking to understand the art industry or follow my creative journey.
Explore the Categories
You can navigate the blog using the tabs at the top of the page. Here is what you will find in each section:
Artistic Journey: A behind-the-scenes look at my creative process and how I sculpt with light.
Short Stories: Creative writing and personal narratives.
Exhibitions: Updates on my latest shows, galleries, and projects.
Roundism: About the core philosophies of Roundism, including fresh insights, and ongoing discoveries that are shaping this emerging artistic movement.
Art Industry Insights: Honest takes on the business of art.
Art Buying Guide: Practical advice and tips for collectors navigating the market.
Together, let’s celebrate the boundless possibilities of artistic expression in discovering the unknown.
Why Subscribe?
I believe art education and industry transparency should be accessible to everyone. There is not enough art understanding in the world, and art is often relegated to the background in favour of popular entertainment and sports. While these are great, art is just as important—if not more so—for the cultural development of humanity.
Free Subscribers: You get full access to the majority of my articles, including exhibition updates, basic collecting tips, and my public journal entries.
Paid Supporters: If you find value in my work or want to support my artistic practice, you can upgrade to a paid subscription. This effectively acts as a “patronage” model, helping me continue to create art and write these in-depth guides.
A Note on My Writing Process
Being neurodivergent, I sometimes face challenges with writing and interpretation. To ensure my ideas are clear and accurate, I utilize a small amount of AI tools (such as voice typing and generative AI) to assist in writing and editing my articles.
How it works: Initially, I write the raw blog myself using voice and finger typing. Then, I use the assistance of generative AI to help me co-edit the text, which I then combine with additional thoughts.
Despite my best efforts, if you come across any errors or find something unclear, please let me know.
Biography of Michal Plis
Michal Plis is a Polish-born, Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of light, material and imagination. Through abstract paintings, sculptures and installations, he creates works shaped by scientific curiosity, spiritual reflection and a fascination with perception.
Early Life & Return to Art
Born in the early 1980s on Poland’s Pomeranian Baltic coast, Michal was introduced to art by his late mother, Renata Plis (Slupecki), a painter and sculptor. After migrating to Australia as a child, he continued painting through his teenage years and was recognised as one of the top art students at his high school, Eumemmerring College, later renamed Hallam Secondary College. During Years 11 and 12, he was taught by two artists-in-residence whose varied artistic backgrounds helped strengthen his passion for fine art.
Although encouraged by the artists-in-residence to pursue formal art education at the Victorian College of the Arts, Michal chose his own path and spent the following two decades working in information technology while continuing to regard art as a private pursuit. In 2010, he stopped creating art because of the emotional connection between his artistic practice and the loss of his mother, Renata.
After 12 years, Michal returned to art in 2022 with renewed purpose. This marked the beginning of a sustained period of artistic development, leading to the creation of Roundism and his ongoing exploration of Sculpting with Light.
Roundism Art Movement
Conceptualized by Michal Plis in 2022 and publicly released on 15 November 2025, Roundism is a structured, secular art movement founded by the Melbourne artist. It establishes a distinct visual language based exclusively on four completely round, edgeless forms: dots, circles, rings and spheres. Roundism can be interpreted through either abstract or figurative art, giving artists a disciplined framework for exploring the world through round form.
Michal continues to develop Roundism through his art practice, training at the Melbourne Studio of Art with sculptor Ilona Herrainer, alongside independent research and art-history study.
Learn more about the Roundism Art Movement at roundism.michalplis.com.
Style: Sculpting with Light
Sculpting with Light is Michal’s ongoing exploration of how light can become an active component of an artwork. His multispectral works combine materials and optical phenomena such as fluorescence, transparency and reflectivity with different light sources, producing shifting visual and perceptual experiences.
The approach extends beyond conventional painting and sculpture, allowing light itself to help shape how a work is seen. This is an abstract exploration of a universe of Michal’s own making, influenced by his fascination with science, astronomy and visionary world-building. His 2025 exhibition Glimpse of Another Universe brought together these explorations of form, material and light.
Influences
Michal’s work is inspired by nature, astronomy and the patterns woven into human life and the cosmos. His artistic influences include Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, Stanisław Szukalski, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso and Yayoi Kusama. His practice also draws from movements including Cubism, Impressionism, the Renaissance, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Suprematism and Geometric Abstraction.
His neurodivergent perspective contributes to an intensely focused and distinctive way of observing form, pattern, colour and light. For Michal, light is not simply a medium but a language through which hidden dimensions of perception can be explored.
His favourite inspirational song is “A Way to Focus the Mind” by The Fires of Ork, a collaboration between Biosphere and Peter Namlook. The track incorporates excerpts from Star Trek: Voyager, including a scene in which a holographic Leonardo da Vinci meets Captain Janeway. Its themes of creativity, curiosity and altered perception resonate strongly with Michal’s approach to art.
Vision
Looking ahead, Michal plans to develop increasingly ambitious paintings, sculptures and installations that embody his artistic ideas and movement. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he draws strength and inspiration from his faith in the Creator, Jehovah God, and seeks to honour that source through creativity.
He hopes for a future reflecting the Bible’s promises for mankind—a world in which economic barriers no longer restrict artistic expression, artists can pursue ambitious projects, and art can be created, shared and experienced more freely.
Signed:
Michal Plis
Melbourne, Australia
5/10/2026
