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CATALOGUES
2007
2006
 

JOHN NATSOULAS GALLERY [FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

521 First Street, Davis, CA 95616
Contact –– 530.756.3938 - art@natsoulas.com
Website – www.natsoulas.com
Gallery Hours: Wed-Th: 11am-5pm, Fri: 11am-10pm, Sat-Sun: 12pm-5pm

 

Melissa Chandon: "LANDMARKS"  

Special Event: Saturday, January 6, 2007 from 8:00pm -8:30pm: In conversation and dialogue with world-renowned Sacramento Valley painter Gregory Kondos and Southwest top 10 painter Melissa Chandon.

 

Exhibition Dates: January 3 – January 28, 2007
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 6, 7 - 9pm,

Melissa Chandon's one person exhibition this January will feature icons of Americana such as road side fast food restaurants from the 50s and 60s, historical Volkswagon Buses, and agricultural vehicles.  Although much of the work has a view from or on the roadways of America, it resembles Pop Art, as she presents the iconic vehicles in isolation.  Her sensibility resembles that of Tom Wesselmann in the 60s, but she clearly has found her own niche, integrating a view of the landscape in with her symbols.  But most of all Chandon's work deals with compositions David Hockney and Wayne Thibeaud address in their work as well. Of her work, Wayne Thibeaud says, “She has developed an effective synthesis of abstract and representational elements in her works.  This gives the works an intensity and raw graphic power to behold.”

There is a loneliness and eeriness to her work as she isolates an object-- a car, a tractor-- and brings it to the forefront of the painting.  She has a clear and straightforward way of presenting her work; she gives the viewer an absolute understanding of the work, of the scene, and of the visual experience as one drives thru the valley.  Her images are abandoned, disappearing emblems of America such as old agricultural machines and Fosters Freeze restaurants.  The feeling of her paintings in this sense relates to Edward Hopper’s lonely depictions of modern America.  Her interest lies in the rapidly disappearing traditional American tableaux; it is almost as if she is documenting the past.  Many of the early American folk artists worked in a similar vein, recording symbols, myths, legends, and everyday environments in a straightforward manner, capturing fashions, signs of the nation, and historical identity.  American folk art became the chief source for American pop art, so as we look at Chandon’s work we can see disappearing icons of America.

For all other needs please contact the artist by sending an email: melissachandon@hotmail.com