Mela M: THE AUTHORITY OF COLOR AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

GBGLA is pleased to present Mela M: The Authority of Color at the Speed of Light, the gallery’s first solo exhibition of the Los Angeles based artist’s work.  The exhibition features new sculpture and wall work and continues through January 1st, 2022.

Mela M’s sculptures are her interpretation of the seamless interconnectedness of light and material form and reference the pronounced uncertainty and unpredictability of our rapidly changing world.  In her work, she seeks to both describe and inform the journey we are on.

The ominously aggressive sharp and angled forms are in stark contrast to the radiance of the shockingly brilliant colors.  And yet these irregular and uncommon shapes and colors create a balance in their chaotic asymmetry.  There is an order and visual harmony that transcends the seemingly incongruous pairings.  

Simultaneously referencing the physical (some unknowable form) and an intangible (light), the sculptures are exuberant and playful.  Their absolutely impeccable execution belies the human hand behind their creation and yet these forms could only be the product of an artist’s boundless imagination.

Mela M’s work is a guide, or perhaps an edict, to cultivate a more enlightened relationship between art, science, the planet, and the universe.  There is a sense that within the chaos is order and within order, chaos.  And that in this balance is the true stuff of life.

Mela M received her MFA in Textile Design from the Technological Institute of Art and Textile Design, Vitebsk, Belarus, in June, 1992, and a second MFA in Painting & Multiple Media from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA , in May 2002.  Her work has earned international recognition with over 22 solo exhibitions, 30 museum group shows and over 100 select group exhibitions in galleries and universities including the National Art Center and Museum in Tokyo, Japan, the Cultural Association of Rome in Italy, the Mark Chagall Museum in Belarus, and the Hudson Valley MOCA in New York.

Mela M’s work is in several permanent collections including the Long Beach Museum of Art in California, the SW Oregon College at Coos Bay and in MOCA Minsk.   Among her residencies is a three month tenure during which she lived in Japan and produced and exhibited new works in Yokohama. She is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards and her work was published in New American Paintings, ArtScene, Crocker Art Museum catalog, New York Times: The Long Islander edition and many more. In addition, Mela M has taught at universities and worked as a curator.   Mela M has been working on wood shaped panels for more than two decades and currently lives and works east of Los Angeles.