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
Study for a quilt of sorts where the arms project upward.. plus two other drawings from the archive.
I just finished installing the last of 3 sculptures created for Eileen Fisher this summer. Over the course of 6 weeks, I used approximately 3,600 pounds of clothing.
I'm in Seattle today, getting ready to install one of the 3 clothing sculptures I created for Eileen Fisher.
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).
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 at the YIA art fair.
Studio time in the Paris suburbs for a clothing sculpture commission for Diesel.
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 symbolize the idea that we are all one 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, coinciding with FIAC. The fair is at the Carreau du Temple, a beautiful space in the Marais.
Dream Drawing, September 10th, 2017. I grew up working in my families styrofoam factory. This provides SOME clue...