What my hand saw, 2021. I like the idea that the hand can 'see' in a sense, making a picture in the mind of what it feels. A kind of synesthesia. It's based on a hand-sketch from a few years prior, but the germ for the idea comes from the early 90s.
Derick Melander creates clothing sculptures that explore the intersection between global consumerism and the intimate relationship we have with what we wear.
Recently, Derick was a visiting artist at FIT. He completed commissions for The Chapman Perelman Foundation in NYC, Swire Properties in Hong Kong, and Diesel in Paris, France.
In 2021 he was awarded grants from New York Foundation for the Arts and Queens Council on the Arts to create a monumental clothing sculpture in the public realm of Queens, NY.
Podcasts: Let it Out | The Listen
Upcoming: Artist in residence, solo show & more at Catskill Art Society, Livingston Manor, NY. More Info
“A Cloud Reveals the Moon”, the making of a modular Clothing Sculpture
“Making clothing sculptures for over 20 years, I’ve come across countless hand-sewn repairs, pants with threadbare knees and coats with names written inside the collar. These traces of life have led me to think of my works as collective portraits. As the sculptures grow and the layers of clothing accumulate, the individual garments are compressed into a single mass. This symbolic gesture explores the complicated space between the individual and society, a space that is ceaselessly broken and re-constituted.”
It’s so nice to see this custom print installed in the office of Giorgia Lera. Giorgia is an aerospace engineer at Lafer Spa, a textile processing company in Italy. She reached out in 2019, after seeing my work in a magazine.
I’m very happy to share my first art-furniture commission. These three clothing sculptures serve as bases for a glass-topped table. The color scheme was inspired by California’s legendary sunsets, but through the lens of memory, fantasy and photo manipulation.
This Thursday is looking like the perfect day for an outdoor clothing sculpture installation. So enough nail-biting, I’m calling it! Come by in the morning to see us in action, or after lunch to see the completed piece.
These drawings seek to reconnect us with second-hand clothing and express the energy contained therein. They evolved out of my respect for second-hand clothing, which I think of as our second skin.
Purple is the gayest color. Only last year, while working on the clothing sculpture The Witness, did I learn that, but I suspect I always knew. Which explains why I never wore purple. Even once. Newly aware of this..
Thrilled to be interviewed by Katie Dalebout for the Let it Out podcast! We had so much to talk about, from clothing sculpture, to listening nights, to lucid dreaming, to textile recycling...
In March and April, I'll be the Artist in Residence at CAS | Catskill Art Society in Livingston Manor, NY. I'll be there working and we have some activities planned as well. Check out my clothing sculpture and say hello?
I'm excited to share a work in progress archive of my dad's work. He was an incredibly sweet man, a great teacher, and a really innovative artist. I miss him dearly.
Due to the rain, we are shifting the dates a bit. The next clothing sculpture installation will be November 14-15 (Sunday and Monday) / 9am-5pm.
We will be installing two different configurations each day, so come see the work evolve.