PAPER MONET: APF LAB
Press Release
ART PRODUCTION FUND PRESENTS PAPER MONET
Artist: Sean Mellyn
Location: APF LAB, 15 Wooster Street, New York City
Dates: June 23rd – August 12th
Open Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 12-6 pm
Art Production Fund is pleased to present Sean Mellyn’s Paper Monet at APF LAB.
Upon receiving The 2008 Munn Artists Program at Giverny Residency, organized by Art Production Fund, Sean immediately pictured himself ensconced in Claude’s powerful garden fortress on the Seine. But then, anxiety set in – how could he possibly afford the café lifestyle so de rigeur among the Impressionists? While shopping for travel size hand-wipes at Pathmark, it hit him: packaged paper plates! Knowing the water lily studio had been transformed to a museum gift shop hawking Monet-inspired coffee cups, neckties, coloring books and nik-naks, how cool would it be to sell decorated plates and handicrafts to tourists along Rue de Monet? Before leaving, he bought four dozen plates and stuffed them into his suitcase.
While Sean knew about the famous gardens, Monet's house was an extraordinary surprise: an acid yellow dining room, Baroque cabinets filled with blue and white Chinese porcelain, walls hung with Japanese prints now faded to a particular indigo blue, sangria red checkerboard tile lay beneath a table set with Monet-designed limoges, a dazzling cobalt tiled kitchen with gleaming copper scullery – the place was more swinging 60s than 19th century France. Arriving at his assigned studio, Sean was amazed to find a 14-foot pine cabinet lining the wall. Its multiple shelves would be perfect for his new wares.
Sean’s installation at APF LAB is a refined version of his Giverny studio, with a re-created cabinet housing more than100 pieces on paper plates and constructed dinnerware. Also installed are "Monetantoinette" (monette-antoinette) drawings, which he created after a story relating how Monet paid villagers to remove leaves from early Summer trees in order to re-create a Winter tableaux. With a wink to the acerbic criticism of Monet's late style having derived from eye defects, he hangs these drawings against silkscreens of eye-charts.
Sean Mellyn’s work has been shown in numerous U.S. and international exhibitions and is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (N.Y.) the Whitney Museum of American Art (N.Y.) Houston Museum of Fine Arts (TX.) and the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art (CA.) among others. He teaches painting at the School of Visual Arts, lives in New York City and works in Brooklyn.
Art Production Fund is a non profit organization dedicated to producing ambitious projects by contemporary artists, reaching new audiences and expanding public participation and understanding of contemporary art. Past Projects include: SHOW, Vanessa Beecroft, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1998; PLAN B, Rudolf Stingel summer 2004, Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall and The Walker Art Center; Prada Marfa, Elmgreen & Dragset, Valentine, TX, 2005, permanent; Greeting Card, Aaron Young, Park Avenue Armory, 2007; Electric Fountain, Noble & Webster, Rockefeller Plaza, 2008; The Whitney Biennial, Park Avenue Armory, 2008; Members Only, Kalup Linzy, 2008; Scribble, Karl Haendel, 2009; Kalup Linzy, Kembra Pfahler, Haim Steinbach, Proenza Schouler for Pitti W, Florence, Italy 2009. Co-Founders: Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen. Director: Casey Fremont.
Soho Mews Developed by United American Land and designed by renowned architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, Soho Mews comprises two condo buildings; one with an entrance on West Broadway and the second which fronts Wooster Street. They are connected by a 4,000 sq.-ft. garden designed by the award-winning Peter Walker & Partners Landscape Architecture, which was recently honored with the winning design for the World Trade Center Memorial, among other accolades. The property features 59 lofts, 5 spacious townhouses and 4 wrap-around penthouses, all with 10-foot ceilings. The building’s ample amenities include concierge service provided by Luxury Attaché, in-building art information advisory service by Art Production Fund, special shopping privileges, updates and other perks from Fort Street Studio and Moss, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center and 24-hour doorman and porter service.
Special thanks to Soho Mews for generously donating the space to Art Production Fund. For more information please contact Casey Fremont: casey@artproductionfund.org or 212 966 0193
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