CONTEMPORARY ART STOCKROOM Melinda Schawel

The abstracted compositions of Melinda Schawel conjure a kind of visual ecology; a symbolic world where concept and construct interact in quiet symbiosis. Immersing herself in the often-overlooked alchemy of paper the Melbourne-based artist summons formal dialogues between texture and mark to present her experiential vision of the natural world.

Maybe It's All Going to Turn Out Alright 2020 (left)
Burst III 2020 (right) from solo exhibition

Using traditional media in unconventional ways - papers collaged, woods sanded, ripped away, covered in ink washes, written on, and waxed - Melinda Schawel’s mixed media works are experimental iterations driven by a love of materials and surfaces, and the search to find the optimum point where ideas, technique and media come together. Working with a pared back palette of neutral tones that are accented by bold reds and graphic blues, Schawel’s works appear both primordial and feather-light, striking a balance between control and chaos as she manipulates her medium and the ever-present element of surprise to create shapes and forms of a largely organic nature.

Never directly observational in their depiction, but rather emblematic of an imagined representation, Melinda Schawel’s richly textured works on paper and metal serve to suggest the organic. Forms akin to lichen, coral spores, spider eggs, macrophages and pollen coalesce in a visual distillation of ecological proclivity. Deeply affected by the environmental catastrophes currently impacting the Australian landscape, Schawel has recently found herself oscillating between a deeply negative and conversely hopeful outlook for the future. Channelling ideas of reciprocity between all life forms, her art practice articulates both an intense appreciation of those forms manifest within nature, and a sense of anticipation for the emergence of a new political and ecological ‘whole world’ view.
Excerpt from exhibition essay by Phe Luxford 2020

My art practice is a personal and emotional response to phenomena occurring in nature, as well as meditations on the nature of paper itself. Working with a thick 640gsm paper, I drill and tear into the medium with a scalpel and peel it back to create shapes and textures revealing different aspects of the paper’s persona. Drawing ink and fluid acrylics are painted and poured on sections of the torn and perforated paper, creating interplays between colour and form. A knowledge and love of materials and process, for me, is the key to achieving a sense of visual equilibrium. Human beings are inherently flawed and we seem to require multiple opportunities to prove ourselves. This is particularly relevant with regards to our catastrophic impact on the climate, which leaves us all to ponder how many chances we actually have left.
Melinda Schawel Artist Statement

On Fire 2020 from solo exhibition

Schawel creates works of considerable lyricism, where despite the brutality of her making process, there prevails a mood of tranquillity tinged with mystery and wonderment. It is possible to see a metaphor in paper as a skin of life or the canary in the coalmine and on it we may notice a reflection on the challenges to the natural environment. Drawings such as ‘Bommie I’ may be interpreted as a meditation on the marine environment and on the process of its regeneration during difficult times.
Dr. Sasha Grishin 2017

Born in Illinois, USA, Schawel received a BA in Fine Art from the University of California in 1993 and a Postgraduate Degree in Printmaking from RMIT in 1996. Schawel is a finalist in the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize (2020) and in 2018 Schawel won the People’s Choice Award for the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize and held a successful solo exhibition at Art Central Hong Kong. She has been a finalist in the Whyalla Art Prize (2017), the Nillumbik Prize (2016, 2015, 2013) and the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award (2015, 2012). She has undertaken residency at the Art Vault in Mildura (2016), Chiang Mai Art on Paper Workshop, Thailand (2015) and at Frans Masereel Centre, Kasterlee, Belgium (2004). Her work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, Crown Casino, Geelong Regional Gallery and the Royal Museum of Fine Art in Antwerp, Belgium. She has exhibited regularly since 1995 and has been selected for a number of prestigious commissions, for corporate spaces such as the Westin Hotel and the Park Hyatt in Melbourne.

Burst 2019 from solo exhibition

FLG is delighted to announce the release of Melinda Schawel’s monograph. (Update: SOLD OUT) This comprehensive publication highlights key events from FLG artist Melinda Schawel’s continuing art career. Focusing in on the last 10 years of Schawel’s 20 plus years of practice, the book explores the nuanced and evolving experimentation of her printmaking processes, her love of materials and surfaces, and her creative drive to find the optimum point where ideas, technique and media come together. Including select essays, reviews and artist’s statements, along-side beautifully detailed images of her work and inspiration, this monograph offers a clear insight into this artist’s intuitive and tactile practice.

CATALOGUE ESSAYS
Second Chances, by Elli Walsh 2018
Protected, by Andrew Gaynor 2016
Traverse, by Marguerite Brown 2014

DOWNLOAD BIO / CV (PDF)

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Maybe It's All Going to Turn Out Alright 2020
ink, pencil on torn & perforated paper
154cm x 106cm (framed size 169 x 121 cm)
$9,500 AUD

On Fire 2020
ink, pencil on torn & perforated paper
105cm x 75cm (framed size 120 x 91 cm)
$6,000 AUD

Burst 2019
ink, pencil on torn & perforated paper
75cm x 105cm (framed size 91 x 121 cm)
$6,000 AUD

Burst III 2020
ink, pencil, collage on torn & perforated paper
105cm x 75cm (framed size 121 x 91 cm)
$6,000 AUD

Crown III 2020
perforated aluminium, edition of 3
54cm x 55cm
$1,200 AUD

Ebb and Flow 2019
ink and pencil on torn and perforated paper
75cm x 105cm (91 x 120cm framed)
$5,500 AUD

Summer Haze 2020
ink, pencil on torn & perforated paper
106cm x 47cm (framed size 121 x 62 cm)
$4,000 AUD