Items Similar to Diptych, Oil on Linen: 'Némésis'
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
David MellenDiptych, Oil on Linen: 'Némésis'2022
2022
About the Item
David Mellen's work is not easily defined, vacillating between human flesh and metaphoric representation, the paintings beg you to look deeper and to consider their physical properties. Duchamp, de Kooning, Bacon, Giacometti, Rothko are all direct influences for Mellen, yet he can not be strictly categorized as a representational or an abstract artist.
Mellen paints forms reminiscent of human bodies, building them one day at a time for the duration of several months. An endless process of addition and subtraction is at work as the loosely defined figures emerge in sharp contrast with precisely executed geometric backgrounds of neutral colors. The juxtaposition between exposed canvas, well-defined geometric background and a form as the subject of the painting is a motif that has followed Mellen’s work through the years.
The entities in Mellen’s work reference actions rather than concrete characters. For example, in Descent (2020) a fall from grace would be recognizable to any medieval reader of the Bible, but we could also see the figure in the act of alienation from its identity. A demonic presence inside a body is suspended between outer and inner realms in Fragment (2021)(header image). The diptych Swansong (2021) baffles us with our inability to make a coherent statement about anatomy based on our critical thinking, a painting unfolding beyond the frame. An aspect noticed by the artist himself as he works with this intention in mind until a technical problem, he tested himself with, is finally resolved.
- Creator:David Mellen (1970, American)
- Creation Year:2022
- Dimensions:Height: 74 in (187.96 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU42239820182
David Mellen
David Mellen (b. 1970, Chicago, IL, USA) attended the American Academy of Art and exhibited his work in his hometown of Chicago until 1994, when he moved to Europe. Over the next five years, he exhibited work in Paris, Brussels and London while working at studios in Germany and Brussels. After returning to the states and living for a time on the west coast, he moved across the country and now lives with his family in Connecticut and exhibits in New York. “When I start a new painting, it’s as if I’ve forgotten how to paint. I mean, once a painting is finished, that final image is so separate from the painting’s beginning, which is buried in this history of false starts and mistakes that I’ve forgotten how I went about it. For me, a finished painting is an accumulation of many small decisions which eventually add up to form a final image, but when starting something new, there is no history…there is nothing but a feeling and an idea. There’s a line in Becket’s Endgame ‘There’s something dripping in my head… A heart, a heart in my head.’ That’s how painting feels to me, slowly accumulating drop by drop.”
About the Seller
4.6
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
1stDibs seller since 2016
112 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 6 hours
Associations
Association of Women Art Dealers
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Stratford, CT
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Triptych Oil on linen: 'Elephant'By David MellenLocated in New York, NYDavid Mellen has proceeded to work according to his own design. He sees art as a medium of discovery rather than a display of untrammeled emotion. This has very little to do with a ...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Abstract oil painting: 'Descent'By David MellenLocated in New York, NYDavid Mellen (b. 1970, Chicago, IL, USA) attended the American Academy of Art and exhibited his work in his hometown of Chicago until 1994, when he moved to Europe. Over the next fi...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Oil Painting: 'Blind'By David MellenLocated in New York, NY“When I start a new painting, it’s as if I’ve forgotten how to paint. I mean, once a painting is finished, that final image is so separate from the painting’s beginning, which is bu...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Diptych; two panels each 70 x 42 in: 'Swansong'By David MellenLocated in New York, NYDavid Mellen (b. 1970, Chicago, IL, USA) attended the American Academy of Art and exhibited his work in his hometown of Chicago until 1994, when he moved to Europe. Over the next fiv...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Abstract Pigment Painting on Canvas: 'The Rhythm, The Blood'By David MellenLocated in New York, NYDavid Mellen (b. 1970, Chicago, IL, USA) attended the American Academy of Art and exhibited his work in his hometown of Chicago until 1994, when he moved to Europe. Over the next fi...Category
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Large Abstract Painting: 'Fragment'By David MellenLocated in New York, NYDavid Mellen (b. 1970, Chicago, IL, USA) attended the American Academy of Art and exhibited his work in his hometown of Chicago until 1994, when he moved to Europe. Over the next fiv...Category
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
You May Also Like
- Red Collider Unseen FoxLocated in Santa Monica, CAIn this series of portraits, Birch materializes enigmatic, ectoplasmic figures in his psychologically charged canvases linking sympathies between external forces and interior emotion...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Alcyone and CeyxBy Malcolm RainsLocated in Montreal, QuebecWith roots in classical Greek art, architecture and mythology, Malcolm Rains explores balance and harmony and even an austerity in his elegant paintings. Inspired by the Baroque pain...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- ByzantiumBy Malcolm RainsLocated in Montreal, QuebecWith roots in classical Greek art, architecture and mythology, Malcolm Rains explores balance and harmony and even an austerity in his elegant pain...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Large Expressionist figurative Oil Painting "The Dancer"By André François van VuurenLocated in Cape Town, ZAThis large scale oil painting on Belgian linen canvas depicts our perceived inner feelings of the people and situations we encounter through the use of bold shapes and colours. The c...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Large Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting "Three Accusers"By André François van VuurenLocated in Cape Town, ZAThis oil painting on Belgian linen canvas depicts people and situations with whom the artist have had contact. Whilst the works are not strictly speaking, portraits of specific peopl...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
- Large Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting "Witnesses"By André François van VuurenLocated in Cape Town, ZAThis oil painting on Belgian linen canvas depicts people and situations with whom the artist have had contact. Whilst the works are not strictly speaking, portraits of specific peopl...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsLinen, Oil
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
David Sharp
Grace David
Giacometti Base
Fall From Grace
Geometric Diptych
Giacometti Figure
David Bible
Jacques Louis David
Painted Tavern Signs
Woman Bathing Art
Maria Modernist
David Jacques Louis
Singapore Poster
Lace Mexico
Chanel Haute Couture Gown
Formula 1 Car
Vintage Spirit Levels
Girl With Flowers Contemporary Painting