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.
Derick Melander creates clothing sculpture that explores the intersection between global consumerism and the intimate relationship we have with what we wear. About my work
Derick was a New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient for 2019, 2021 and 2023 to create new works in the public realm of Queens, NY.
Upcoming
03/2025 Artist residency & solo show, Museo Pedro Coronel, Zacatecas, Mexico
05/2025 Two-person show with Kelly Reemtsen, Gallery Oxholm, Pile Allé 25, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Podcasts: Let it Out | The Listen
“A Cloud Reveals the Moon”, the making of a modular Clothing Sculpture
“Making clothing sculpture 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.” More about my clothing sculptures
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.”
This sketch is for a sculpture series. 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).
Working on an idea for a new sculpture. Pictured here, garment silhouettes are traced and cut from thin sheets of copper and distorted to appear as if they are caught in a whirlwind.
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.
You likely do not know this, but in addition to being a sculptor, I am a lover of industrial design. I have many sketches for functional objects, especially designs for furniture. Here is a design for a full-size folding screen. It takes its form from a deconstructed shirt cuff
The COVID-19 Pandemic is tragic on so many levels. When I learned that those infected and hospitalized were being separated from their loved ones, potentially dying among strangers, I felt a profound sense of grief. And as the pandemic progresses, seeing how it has disproportionally affected communities of color and the immigrant populations of New York City has shed new light on inequality and systemic racism.
I’m excited to share my interview with Kate Jetmore of The Listen Podcast. We had a great time talking about getting unstuck and, well, something paranormal happens…