Martín Mele
Wo ist Mele?
13.07. – 31.08.2014

Traveling has always been an integral part of an artist’s life. While it used to mean following the call of a client and today it means visiting trade fairs and exhibitions all over the world, Martín Mele’s biography is already a story of travel and at the same time the essential source of inspiration for his art.

Born in Argentina in 1960, raised in Spain and the Netherlands, he came to Germany and studied under Markus Lüpertz at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1992. Today the globetrotter, who has had solo exhibitions in Switzerland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany and Argentina, commutes between the Rhine metropolis and his home country.

Mele’s works incorporate memories, impressions of shapes and colors, finds, experiences and encounters from his extensive travel collection. In addition to paintings and performances, his work is characterized above all by his material collages, sculptures and installations. Following the principle of the ready-made, the so-called “live sculptures” are created from everyday items, objects and oddities that the artist often finds at flea markets and in second-hand shops. In a performative process, the most diverse materials are intuitively put together, connected and rearranged. The way in which they are created is noticeable in the works: they always have a certain degree of ephemerality, as if they could change or dissolve at any time.

Mele has a special connection to literature. As a child, he first came into contact with Spanish poets and then became more and more interested in world literature. The literary influence on his art does not mean that Mele’s works are narrative or refer to a clear template, but rather enables the artist to take a more distanced approach and gives his works a certain independence, a slight irony or a subtle wit.

Curated by Klaus Becké.