Melissa Marks

In a circular, changeable, abstract story, what happens to familiar notions of beginning, middle and end? 

At its core, “Volitia” is a project about making the internal visible. The drawn mark is given superhero status and attributes - and yet, remains a basic building block with the power to elaborate fantasy. The line, the stroke, the painterly gesture, maintain an instantly recognizable iconic power - and, at the same time, are inextricably tied to a belief in a vibrant interior life, to something essentially human. 

In a tender recalibration of Epic, with a pliable expression of character, giving pace and rhythm to an unfolding narrative, Volitia draws herself as a new kind of hero. As metaphor, Volitia represents an open soul, ready to turn herself inside out in order to see the world. As an object, in the form of a drawing, painting or installation, she represents our body, concrete and attached, utterly dependent on her ability to be seen. Volitia (as in volition) caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and became self-aware. 

What can I find out by drawing my way through a question or an installation? Something will happen, something I have not anticipated, something responsive to the room, the light, the people I encounter, the scale of my marks, the height of the ceiling, the shape of the space and everything that space is asked to do and to hold. 

Melissa Marks received her BA from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT and an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT. Marks has exhibited her work widely throughout the United States and Europe. Solo exhibitions include: Shirley Fiterman Art Center, NY; Planthouse Gallery, NY; Bloomberg Space, London; Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, NY; Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, CT and Joya: arte + ecología, Almeria, Spain. Her work has been included in exhibitions at PS1/Moma, NY; Artspace, CT, The Drawing Center, NY, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, CT. She has participated in numerous artists residency programs, including Residency Unlimited, Brooklyn, NY and Joya: arte + ecología, Almeria, Spain.