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..
Derick Melander, Textile Artist
I create textile art that explores the intersection between global consumerism and the intimate relationship we have with what we wear. About my work
Derick is a New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient for fibre art in the public realm, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Upcoming
01/2026 “Infinitive ex/quilt”, group show
MC Gallery, 549 W 52nd Street, NY, NY
9/2026 Name TBD, solo show
Hall Space, 550 State Route 55, Eldred, NY
Podcasts: Let it Out | The Listen
Artist Talk, Roscoe Collective
It was a full house for The Roscoe Collective’s new conversation series exploring the arts, humanities, and sciences.
After sharing a presentation on my work as a textile artist, Teresa Tulipano and I discussed the complexity of fast fashion, textile waste and the often-unconscious daily ritual of getting dressed.
See the project I referenced from 2009 with the NYC Department of Sanitation to raise awareness about textile waste.
Making textile art and large-scale clothing sculptures for over 25 years, I’ve come across countless hand-sewn repairs, threadbare knees, and collars inscribed with names. These traces of life have led me to think of my works as collective portraits. As the sculptures grow and layers of second-hand clothing accumulate, the individual garments compress into a single mass. This process explores the complicated space between the individual and society — a space that is continually broken and re-constituted. More about my clothing sculptures
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.
I’m very happy to share a new location and additional details regarding two clothing sculpture installations for the public realm of Jackson Heights, Queens.
This new work will be made from wood and thousands of second-hand garments, sourced from the local community during the pandemic.
A design for a portable clothing sculpture to be installed in public plazas throughout Queens, NY. This piece is made from eight separate units, to allow for multiple configurations.
“In selecting second-hand clothing as his medium for making art, Melander has made a critical decision about how this chosen material conveys the connection of memory to feeling.”
From 2002-2007, I was in an arts collective called Tag Projects. We built community, self-produced five exhibitions, sold work, and even got a rave review from Holland Cotter in The New York Times!
Here I am wearing my own creation called “A Shirts” made by daisy-chaining 4 dress shirts together at the plackets. I wore this all day at The Callicoon Art Walk in 2019.