#robertmelee

Robert Melee: Semi-Quasi-Bower Recreational.

About a month before this show at Andrew Kreps opened, Van took me to Robert’s studio for a visit and I had the pleasure of experiencing his creative process.

I was intrigued by what was going on, as Robert was “painting” with ribbons over surfaces of plastic ridge roofing and showing us a model of an upside down swimming pool with a cascade of glittering decorations falling from it.

Van commented it was like the bower bird making dams in the river.

I told Robert then I knew exactly what I’d be wearing to his opening.

On January 9th, the day of the opening, I was thrilled because I just knew I’d be meshing into the work.

With a chartreuse corduroy Romeo Gigli shirt Paul gave me in the mid 90s and a vintage grosgrain ribbon necklace I got at Narnia, D&G destroyed jeans, Adidas Springblade sneakers and my Fulton Soho umbrella, I made my way with Scooter to the gallery.

We arrived and found Van right away, as well as Kelly, Henry, and John Gilliland. We greeted them and chatted, and walked around and found Dietmar, and Lucius.

I asked Dietmar to take some photos of me by the paintings with the streamers; and we had fun doing some quick styling. We saw Robert and said hello to him, he was wearing a lovely sequined shirt.

I walked around and was delighted to see the photo assemblage David “Debs” Quinn with non-moving ceiling fans attached. (Robert had mentioned during the studio visit how he likes to incorporate functional items that don’t operate within his pieces.)  I was dazzled by the hotel lobby paneling collages with dangling Home Depot-lighting department style  chandeliers drilled into them.

The Bower Pool is enormous indeed, and I felt the melancholy behind the riot of color, fur, tinsel, electric lights and streamers falling out of it. As a child, I used to decorate the house, with my mom’s help, for every single holiday. It was a custom I developed mostly during the year I spent in Maryland, where I attended the first grade. I was blown away by the amazing array of decorations for everything for Halloween to St. Patrick’s Day to Thanksgiving that were available even at the local Safeway, and I would collect these ornaments and keep them in a cardboard box printed in a woodgrain pattern, ready to be put up year after year.

I felt the Bower Pool was like my cardboard box being poured out, and I thought about the value of these ornaments in processing all the emotions I was feeling through the transitions of growing up…the act of decorating taking me away from feelings of loneliness, and serving as a gesture to jump start a feeling of optimism in my parents.

I kind of felt that the entire show was about feelings along those lines.

After the closing, Henry, Kelly, Scooter, Van and I went to a fun birthday party at Steven Maserjian’s for a bit. I said hello to Justin Shaddix who was there, and also to David Serotte, who also joined after seeing us at the gallery and playing a game of finding each other via Find Friends while walking down 8th Avenue. It was wonderful to see them both, and to share heartfelt conversation.

Later on, we went to Julius’ and met Robert, Riley, and John, who were celebrating there. Van got Scooter a burger, which we shared.