Clothing Sculpture: To Reshuffle the Sun – The hill-shaped lawn in Travers Park covered with second-hand clothing, arranged like a giant color wheel but with a dark center and a light outer edge. 100 feet wide.

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

Clothing Sculpture - Plan for Folding Screen

Folding Screen – Deconstructed Shirt Cuff

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
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Covid-19 Memorial Design. Clothing Sculpture by Derick Melander

A COVID-19 Memorial Proposal

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.
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Float, 2003

Interview with The Listen Podcast

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…
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Clothing Folding Demo

Visiting Artist Lecture at Fashion Institute of Technology

I'm excited to be kicking off two projects with FIT this spring. I'll be presenting a visiting artist lecture and working as an artist in residence. I'll tell you how I came to focus on second-hand clothing, I'll review key projects and I'll share some entertaining case studies.
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Clothing Sculpture: Clamp Study, 2017-19

New Drawings for 2019

Clothing assemblages wrapped on panels (OK, maybe there is a wig in the first one!). Also, ideas for outdoor sculptures that explore the idea of marking, directing, instructing... but lacking meaning.
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