TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – You may recognize their calling card: a large sign standing tall on Reynolds Road reading “Mr. Atomic.” Behind that name are two identical twin painters from Toledo.
Dozens of paintings pack a studio on the top floor of the Common Space Community Center. Every one of them is signed under one nuclear name: Mr. Atomic.
“When somebody recognizes us on the streets and addresses us as Mr. Atomic, I don’t hesitate at all in my response, because I am, we are that person,” said Mark Kersey, who is one-half of Mr. Atomic.
The other half is his identical twin, Michael Kersey.
“He’s the sour, I’m the sweet. He’s the Lennon, I’m the McCartney,” Michael said.
The name Mr. Atomic came from the twins’ 60s pop culture influences, like comic books and sci-fi movies. The moniker gave them the freedom to be unconventional.
No two paintings are the same. The only common thread between the variety of subjects and styles are bright colors.
“If we can think it, we can paint it,” Michael said.
The twins are collaborators, but not in the traditional sense. Each twin makes his own paintings, but they do offer each other advice and critiques on their paintings.
“It’s benefited our art because two heads are better than one,” Mark said.
The two have a bevy of experience. Mark and Michael each have spent more than 50 years as artists.
For a time, they took their talents to New York City. The twins worked on projects for a variety of companies including Marvel Comics and Apple Records.
The latter was a dream because The Beatles, who owned the record company, are Mark and Michael’s biggest inspirations.
“They were always challenging themselves to do something different,” Mark said.
“Nobody could ever accuse them of not being creative; they were extremely creative,” Michael added.
That same work ethic drives the painters. No two paintings are alike.
“I think time is short in a way, and whatever I can entrust to a canvas is something that I had within me that now can be seen in graphic form,” Mark said “And I feel like I’ve expanded and continued to expand within myself.”
After hitting the pavement in NYC, the twins have made their way back to Toledo.
A giant Mr. Atomic sign sits outside the building where they have their studio. It’s become well-known in Toledo. At one time, it maybe got too much attention.
“We came to work in the parking lot, and we noticed something was missing. Not the building, but the sign,” Michael said, recalling a theft that happened about seven years ago.
The brothers never figured out what happened to the stolen sign. A second, stronger 400-pound version now stands in its place.
Michael and Mark hope the sign is there for as long as they stay in Toledo.
The twins continue to make art that is bright, unique and 100% atomic.
For more information about Mr. Atomic’s art, click here.
Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals
Copyright 2026 WTVG. All rights reserved.