Michael Carney is an artist and designer based in Nashville Tennessee. Born in Akron Ohio, Carney was educated at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Carney’s career started during his first year in art school when he began making album covers, flyers and tshirts for rock and roll bands. During this time he began working with the band The Black Keys when they asked him to create the artwork for a demo recording. He has worked with the band ever since creating album covers, tshirts, posters, flyers and every other visual output the band has had. In 2011 he won a Grammy award for Best Album Package for his work on the album Brothers.

Outside of his work with The Black Keys Carney has created artwork for over 50 records working closely with a select group of record labels and artists, most notably Dr. John, John Denver, Junior Kimbrough and Randy Newman along with many others. He has also worked with many clients ranging from Warner Brothers Records, Netflix, Marc Jacobs, Urban Outfitters, Girl Skateboards, Birdhouse Skateboards, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Victoria’s Secret.

He creates work with massive stylistic variation jumping between mediums, methods and techniques so frequently it is very difficult to tell they were created by the same person. His design work is often conceptual and also humorus. Aesthetically his work is quite minimal but more of a low brow minimalism, inspired by utilitarian design, outsider art, DIY design and generic product design. He strives to make work that feels undesigned and also immediately familiar.

Carney creates work ignoring creative boundaries. He is truly a multidisciplinary artists working across many creative pursuits from Typography to Illustration, Painting to Photography, playing in punk bands to corporate branding. Although he attended art school he is mainly self taught.

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