Melissa Vandenberg

Lives and works in Richmond, KY, USA

Artist statement

Permanence is an illusion and power an apparition. After enough time passes, the most any of us can hope for is to leave artifacts behind. With ordinary materials my work addresses the fleeting nature of power and a lack of permanence with both the tangible and metaphysical. Inspiration is garnered from Americana relics, eastern religious practices and misguided nostalgia for vintage materials. We impose a lot of metaphors on objects and possessions, which affects my chosen iconography. Flags, maps, and gravestones are altered into somewhat antagonistic forms. Questions surrounding patriotism, pride and partisanship begin to emerge in work that is both satirical and idealistic. The results are overwhelmingly about mortality, but not exclusively dark or negative. Subtexts touch on resurrection, reincarnation and even recycling. Much of the work is made with ordinary supplies like matches, quilts, stickers, popsicles, temporary tattoos and other domicile goods. I am partial towards the “familiar,” in hopes of making the challenging subjects addressed in the work more accessible. There is not one mode or material that is preferred over another, but I often find myself gravitating towards sculpture in addition to working with drawing, collage, photography, installation and performance. My upbringing in the suburbs of Detroit, a northern "Rust Belt" metropolis, combined with Southern “make do” perseverance, has had an enormous impact on my art. Repetition is a predominant...

Artwork