Robert Melee: Recent Works

 

The presentation focuses on Melee's series of Nocturnal Skyscapes, first exhibited in his 2018 exhibition at MOCA Tuscon. Inspired by stars in the night sky and an investigation into the optical effects of color, Melee obsessively paints hundreds of vividly colored dots on a black ground to create pulsating and dynamic compositions. Initially made as all over gradients, more recently Melee has masked shapes and shadows into his works, further highlighting the interaction of color with the work's glossy black ground. These works are foregrounded by two earlier works from Melee's ongoing series of Bottlecap paintings. Demonstrating Melee's ongoing interest in camp and craft, in these works, found beer bottle caps are laid into plaster, allowing their shape and pattern to become the painting's framework, as they're layered in rich enamel. Similar in composition, their bright central forms suggest the lingering colors and patterns from a sudden flash of light.