ARTIST'S STATEMENT |
Melisse Herman works with themes of Absence and Presence. Her work is a collection of diverse objects that she de-constructs and re-constructs in ways that are at first unseen, then subtly visible, and finally clear. Although the dialog with the viewer is lively, it is carried out in whispers and soft tones.
Drawing the viewer with blurred image and shifting light, her intentions are to invite and to intrigue, with the nature of the object not immediately apparent. For example, three white boxes lure with bits of color. Are they paintings? Sculpture? Slowly it becomes clear that their contents are gloves, buttons, or something completely unanticipated. Some pieces are fabric that has been obsessively unwoven, suggesting a re-examination of art making that blends the brevity of minimalism and the ritual activity of women's work. By pulling each thread, evidence is left of her undoing and remaking.
As an artist, Melisse is compelled to leave room for the viewer to draw their own meaning from each work. Objects require a second and third glance. Things are reversed, inverted, turned inside out. By re-positioning these objects, their original meanings are obscured and endowed with new implications.
Melisse has exhibited on both the East and West Coasts and is in a number of significant collections, including the Chevron Corporation and the United States Embassy in Hong Kong, she helped to compose a young adult novel, and has taught in the degree and extended education programs at both California College of the Arts and Mills College.
Offering an opening to thought, dialog and perhaps resolution, this work is a retrospective, and perhaps a teaching tool, about neglected socially significant events.
Learn more about Melisse's extensive career experience.
Drawing the viewer with blurred image and shifting light, her intentions are to invite and to intrigue, with the nature of the object not immediately apparent. For example, three white boxes lure with bits of color. Are they paintings? Sculpture? Slowly it becomes clear that their contents are gloves, buttons, or something completely unanticipated. Some pieces are fabric that has been obsessively unwoven, suggesting a re-examination of art making that blends the brevity of minimalism and the ritual activity of women's work. By pulling each thread, evidence is left of her undoing and remaking.
As an artist, Melisse is compelled to leave room for the viewer to draw their own meaning from each work. Objects require a second and third glance. Things are reversed, inverted, turned inside out. By re-positioning these objects, their original meanings are obscured and endowed with new implications.
Melisse has exhibited on both the East and West Coasts and is in a number of significant collections, including the Chevron Corporation and the United States Embassy in Hong Kong, she helped to compose a young adult novel, and has taught in the degree and extended education programs at both California College of the Arts and Mills College.
Offering an opening to thought, dialog and perhaps resolution, this work is a retrospective, and perhaps a teaching tool, about neglected socially significant events.
Learn more about Melisse's extensive career experience.