I was so busy with shows when some of these came out, I never managed to share them. Thank you GQ, Complex, Brutus and Textiel Plus for the exposure! It was a pleasure to work with you.
Print Love!
Derick Melander
Clothing Sculpture Drawings From the Archive – December, 2018
Study for a quilt of sorts where the arms project upward.
Sketch for a fantasy stilt screen-house.
Quick watercolor study for a “clothing stack” made from clay.
Eileen Fisher Clothing Sculpture Commissions: Brooklyn, Seattle & Detroit
I just finished installing the last of 3 sculptures created for Eileen Fisher this summer. Though I worked out of their “Tiny Factory” in Irvington NY, my studio was huge. And with The Hudson River outside my door, it felt like an artist residency with all the clothing I could ever need. (more about that here). Over the course of 6 weeks, I used approximately 3,600 pounds of clothing. I tried to keep track of the number of garments I used, but alas, that did not happen!
Here is a bit about the process. In my early design discussions with the Eileen Fisher creative team, I made the above”playing card” sketches to facilitate design exploration. These were all about 2.5″ x 3.5″.
Those evolved into the schematics below that I created on my computer.
Once we nailed that down, I got down to sorting and folding. Here is where we landed for the Seattle store:
All is actually each, 2018 (after Aldous Huxley) 7’ x 28” x 28”
(after Aldous Huxley)
7’ x 28” x 28”
More about this piece under Works
And here is the piece for Detroit:
Separating being from becoming, 2018 (after Aldous Huxley) 7’ x 28” x 28”
More about this piece under Works
Maybe you are wondering about the piece I created for Brooklyn? Well, I need to get back there to do a proper photoshoot! I’m really excited to share that with you, as well as the amazing mini-doc that was created! In the meantime here is a schematic for the design.
Schematic for the Eileen Fisher Brooklyn Store.Hard at work!
Installing at Eileen Fisher, Bergan St.
Derick and his steamer.
Summer Studio, Eileen Fisher
August 20, 2018
I’m in Seattle today, getting ready to install one of the 3 sculptures I created for Eileen Fisher. Drinking a big coffee and reflecting back on my summer residency, I feel a bit melancholy that it’s nearly over. The Eileen Fisher team generously gave me studio space in their Tiny Factory to create the work. Situated in their warehouse, surrounded by endless amounts of second-hand clothing, I was right at home:
As an added bonus, The Tiny Factory is located in a building that was built for Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1895. It was designed by Stanford White, a notorious art star of the gilded age (I love his shop coat and ‘stache!)
Sadly, the other side of the building, which looked pretty much the same as this side, was chiseled off and faced with ordinary red brick. Someday I will try to find out how and why that happened.
Empty Gestures, 2018
I always feel a twinkle of joy when I see a blank sign or a marker that has lost its meaning. These objects draw our attention, but have nothing to say (like some people I know).
I also like the way they hold space in a practical, functional way, but without reason. So we can just appreciate them as forms.
This sketch is for a series of sculptures. Now I just need a month of Sundays to make them all.
Diesel Clothing Sculpture Commission, Day 5 – Studio Time
So excited to exhibit the results of this new commission from Diesel. Getting on a plane soon which will get me to the exhibition space just in time for the opening! October 19-22, 2017 at YIA, Paris
Diesel has been a great partner and collaborator. See their new ad campaign here « Go with the flaw »
Fantastic support from amazing Agency Anolis. http://www.anolis.fr
Installed since 2014 in the exhibition hall of the Carreau du Temple in Paris, the YIA Art Fair annually has a selection of 65 French and international galleries of excellence and hosts an audience of more than 20,000 visitors (collectors, art professionals and curious people).
For its eleventh edition, the YIA – Young International Art Fair is held from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd of October 2017 at the Carreau du Temple during the week of contemporary art in Paris, on the dates of the FIAC. http://yia-artfair.com
Workspace, St. Denis, Paris, France, 2017
Now THAT’s a studio! If only it were mine to keep. And it came with complimentary French food.. Well OK, let’s not be greedy. Here till Wed, then to YIA for the exhibition.
Untitled Clothing Sculpture (corner piece), 2017
This is a sketch for a piece comprised of 3175.15 kilograms of carefully folded second-hand clothing. It will be 2.1 meters tall and 1.8 meters wide. The overall shape is that of a thick, free-standing, corner partition. The color vertically transitions from dark to light and the back again. Inside the corner of the structure, shirt sleeves, pant legs, ties, etc.. emerge to form bridge-like appendages. These elements express the human need to make connections and the idea that we are all one people. It relates to an early work seen Here
Studio Time: New Clothing Sculpture Commission with Diesel
Heads down people! Hard at work this past weekend, preparing a new commission for Diesel. The work will be exhibited in Paris at the YIA art fair. It opens next week on Thursday the 19th and runs through the weekend, coinciding with FIAC. The fair is at the Carreau du Temple, a beautiful space in the Marais.
Keep an eye on this space for updates as things unfold.
Styrofoam Fireplace (dream drawing)
Size: 12″ x 9″
Materials: 200 lb. white paper, pencil & gouache
Dream Drawing, September 10th, 2017. OK, this one is embarrassing! I grew up working in my family’s styrofoam factory. That history is in here somewhere, but the rest, ask Carl Jung…