ARTIST STATEMENT
Northeast Ohio has been home for the past 15 years. In my formative years I lived in Europe and parts of the U.S, a childhood that oscillated between being unhoused or in communes and cults to living in mainstream society. Settling in the Midwest has brought stability and points of contrast which shows up in my work in the regularity and solidity of the woven structures and the additions and disruption of the surfaces. Working at a large floor loom, I paint unbound yarns which I then weave into canvas substrates for further working into. The work is small and intimate in scale, referencing the domesticity and pace of homemaking and childrearing that I have done here. Through vivid color and geometric patterning, I make representations of the landscapes and create conversations between the patterned regularity of weaving and the branches that have randomly fallen into my yard. Integral to the work is a weave pattern of undulating squares creating an optical phenomena of motion and shifting space. My work is playful and absurd, and accepts that adjusting and shifting is a reality of parenting, living both in the Midwest and in our current climate. Speaking to the historical use of tapestry as a storytelling vehicle and cultural archive, my work documents introspective moments brought on by shifts in experiences, however, it departs from traditional tapestry in its use of geometric abstraction and the presentation of random objects, exploring universal motions and interior and exterior landscapes.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Melissa English Campbell (b. 1969, San Francisco) combines painting and weaving to explore optical and psychological phenomena. Her colorful patterned painted and woven canvases border on abstraction, leveraging the historical role of tapestries for storytelling and cultural record keeping. Melissa’s artwork has been exhibited at Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio Craft Museum, Yards Projects Cleveland, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, FiberArt International Pittsburgh, the CAN Triennial, International Fiber Art in California, the New Bedford Art Museum, Museum of Texas Tech University, Yeiser Art Center, Hand Weaving Museum New York, Troppus Gallery, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and internationally at the Royal Albert Museum in the UK, Seoul South Korea, Como Italy, and New South Wales Australia. Melissa holds a B.S in Environmental Design from U.C Davis and an MFA in Studio Arts from Kent State University. She lives in Kent, Ohio.
© Melissa English Campbell