About
Melanie Russell
Lives and works in London
Education
2002-2004 MFA, Slade School of Fine Art
1997-2000 BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Group Exhibitions
2023 A Generous Space 3, Huddersfield Art Gallery
2023 Small & Mighty Club, Ladies Drawing Club, (online exhibition)
2022 Plant Life, The Art of Frinton, Frinton-on-Sea
2022 Colours An Exhibition of Paintings, The Stone Space, London
2022 On Paper, Paper Gallery, Manchester
2021 A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary
2019 Extraordinary Sketchbooks, Mount House Gallery, Marlborough
2015 Contemporary British Watercolours, Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery
2015 Gin 5, 6GINS Project Space, The Royal Standard, Liverpool
2013 Form/Function, Pluspace, Manchester
2013 Creekside Open, APT, London
2013 Meditations, Pluspace, Coventry
2012 March Group Exhibition, Hada Contemporary, London
2012 Objects of Desire, The Searchers Contemporary, Centrespace, Bristol
2011 Open Painting Competition, Motorcade/FlashParade, Bristol
2007 Jerwood Contemporary Painters, Jerwood Space, London, Bayart, Cardiff &
The Lowry, Salford
2007 Salon 07, Seven Seven Contemporary Art, London
2005 2D open, Surface Gallery, Nottingham
2005 Creekside Open, APT, London
2004 Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2000 Phusion, Gasworks Gallery, London
Solo & Two Person Exhibitions
2023 Hustling & Jostling, with Justine Formentelli, Woodfield Project, Tooting, London
2007 & 2006 Artist in Residence, Mount House Gallery, Marlborough
Prizes and Awards
2011 Open Painting Competition, Motorcade/FlashParade
2007 Jerwood Contemporary Painters
2005 Creekside Open
Residencies
2006-2007 Artist in Residence, Marlborough College
Public commissions
2010 Weymouth Hoardings Project, Dorset County Council
Artist Statement
Melanie Russell creates drawings and paintings which capture fleeting moments of botanical beauty in loose lines full of energy, mimicking the very spring that nature relies on to burst into bloom. Russell’s works are playful and experimental as well as quiet and sensitive, dancing between representation and abstraction.
Observational drawings are the basis of her works which she approaches with a sense of naivety, creating loose drawings in a range of materials, from graphite to pastel and charcoal. She breaks down the organic forms into complex confident lines against a patchwork of colour, giving as much importance to the form as the navigation of negative spaces.
Russell’s work is a celebration of life and growth, the organic forms which are the subject of her work mainly come from her garden which she created from seed and cuttings, spawning each flower and plant from seed to exuberance. Found objects also act as a muse to Russell’s work; plants, shells and leaves which catch her eye are collected and studied. The colour palette is abundantly bold and vibrant alongside works which relish in rich hues and subtle pastels. Reminiscent of stained glass windows, the works are monuments to the wonderment of the natural world.
