Artist

Artist Statement:

I am interested in the ways that, for those who are paying attention to the world around us, our imagination is capable of animating the often banal and inanimate experiences and objects in our day-to-day lives. In my work, I draw from these daily occurrences and elevate common objects to higher ground by focusing all my energy and attention on them.

Exploring gesture, line, color, form and texture, I play with these elements to see how they can figuratively obscure the object. By selectively picking certain characteristics from the object that convey a slight gesture or sense of humor, I leave room for ambiguity, opening the door for viewers to enter and interact with the work. Color is incredibly important in my work, both the complete saturation that creates its own movement or vibrations to the seemingly absence of color where I rely on texture to create a similar movement.

Artist Biography:

Melissa Dorn works between painting and sculpture. She draws from common everyday objects, things often overlooked or passed by, as subject matter and infuses them with humor. Dorn is a Milwaukee-based artist, who holds a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She has been practicing art for 20 years, and is represented by the Frank Juarez Gallery.

Her work can be found in many corporate collections including Tax-Air, Northwestern Mutual, Mandel Group, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, Littler Mendelson and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

Selected exhibitions include: The Sarah Ball Allis Art Museum, Charles Allis Art Museum; The Everyday Feminist: Fine China, Plock Art Gallery; The Everyday Feminist: Doing the Dishes, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mopping Up, Frank Juarez Gallery; The Jump Off, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art; Detroit Biennale, Museum of New Art; Wisconsin Artists Biennial, Museum of Wisconsin Art; Preservatif, Stockholm Gallery; Forward 2014, Charles Allis Art Museum; Up, Down!, River Edge Gallery; Moving Mountains, Frank Juarez Gallery; Schematic, UW-Sheboygan; Eight Counties, John Michael Kohler Arts Center; Art Chicago and Aqua Art Miami, Hotcakes Gallery.