Statement

My American Mosaic series honors America’s rich multicultural heritage through diverse portraits. The ‘melting pot’ metaphor is being replaced by new metaphors like ‘mosaic’ which suggest an integration that blends yet preserves each culture’s unique qualities rather than promoting one homogenous culture. The photographs illustrate the beauty of a heterogeneous society and celebrate both the similarities and differences between its people. I have attended many multicultural celebrations and festivals to find the individuals in this series, all of whom are proudly wearing their own traditional dress. I believe America is a young country that can benefit from the wisdom of myriad cultures and ancient traditions passed down through the generations. In an age of increasing intolerance, my series encourages cross cultural understanding, intercultural dialogue and harmony.

Bio

After many years in New York City working as a professional documentary and portrait photographer for newspapers and magazines, Melissa now lives in Denver, Colorado where she continues to pursue her artistic passions as a fine art photographer. Her current projects explore heritage, identity, and multiculturalism. Melissa’s photographs have been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries in the United States and around the world including two recent exhibitions in China and the Barcelona Foto Biennale in Spain.

CV
Solo and Small Group Shows:

American Mosaic, Colorado State Capitol Building, Denver, CO, May 2019

American Mosaic, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA September – January, 2019

Group Shows:

She, A Smith Gallery, Juror Joyce Tenneson, Johnson City, TX, 2019

The Big Picture, Street Art, Curator Mark Sink, Denver, CO, 2019

13th Yixian Photography Festival, Xidi Ancient Village, Curator Guo Jing, Yixian, Anhui, China 2018

2nd Lang Jingshan Cup China New Pictorial Photography Biennale, Huai’an International Photography Museum, Curator Guo Jing, Huai’an, Jiangsu, China 2018

–Barcelona Foto Biennale, Space Nau Bostik, Curator Julio Hirsch-Hardy, Barcelona, Spain 2018

–American Splendour, ILON Gallery, Jurors Jon Feinstein, David Rosenberg, Hannah Frieser, Loni Efron, and Ruben Natal-San Miguel, New York, NY 2018

–Annual Members’ Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Juror Paula Tognarelli, Denver, CO 2018

-Celebrating Women (Honorable Mention), Photoplace Gallery, Juror Joyce Tenneson, Middlebury, VT  2018

-Lens 2018 (Best in Show Award), Perspective Gallery, Juror Paula Tognarelli, Evanston, IL 2018

-1st Annual Members Exhibition, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Juror Brian Paul Clamp, Fort Collins, CO 2018

-Identity, The Curated Fridge, Gallery Kayafas, Flashpoint Festival, Juror Brian Paul Clamp, Boston, MA 2017

-Intimate Portrait, The SE Center for Photography, Juror Joyce Tenneson, Greenville, SC 2017

-3rd Annual Group Show, Davis Orton Gallery, Juror Paula Tognarelli, Hudson, NY, 2017

-Intimate Portrait, Photoplace Gallery, Juror Joyce Tenneson, Middlebury, VT 2017

-Art of Resistance/ Art of Resilience, Feral Factory/The Crash, Jurors Tracy Weil, Louise Martorano, Martha Weidmann, Denver, CO 2017

-Radical Heterogeneity in the City, Feral Factory/The Crash, Denver, CO 2017

-Shutter Relief: Social Awareness Through the Lens, Dona Laurita Gallery, Louisville, CO 2017

-Peace Through the Lens…An American Story,(Best of Show) Chicano Humanities & Arts Council, Denver, CO 2017

-Representing the West: A New Frontier, Juror Don Stinson, Sangre De Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, CO, 2017

-The Big Picture, Street Art, Juror Mark Sink, Denver, CO 2017

-America, Light Leaked, Juror Roger May, Online Exhibition, 2016

-2nd Annual Group Show,Davis Orton Gallery, Juror Paula Tognarelli, Hudson, NY, 2016

-Point of View: Contemporary Photography, Site: Brooklyn, Juror Mitra Abbaspour, Brooklyn, NY, 2016

-Real American (Honorable Mention),117 Gallery, Juror Peter Baker, Ann Arbor, MI, 2016

-Louisville National Juried Photography Show (First Place), Louisville Center for the Arts, Juror Dona Laurita, Louisville, CO 2016

-RAW, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA), Curator Rex Bruce, Los Angeles, CA 2016

-Portraits, Center for Fine Art Photography, Juror Martha Schneider, Fort Collins, CO, 2016

-Art Through the Lens, Yeiser Art Center, Juror Sarah Sudhoff, Paducah, KY, 2015

-Travelers 5 (Best of Show), TBell Photographic Gallery, Juror Susan Froyd, Denver, CO 2015

-Denver Collage Club,Robert Anderson Gallery, Denver, CO 2015

-Truth and Perception, ACAD Gallery, Denver, CO 2015

-Focus, Spark Gallery, Juror Mark Sink, Denver, CO 2015

-The Big Picture, Street Art, Juror Mark Sink, Denver, CO 2015

-Electron Salon,Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Curator Rex Bruce, Los Angeles, CA 2014

-Member’s Juried Group Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Juror Mark Sink, Denver, CO 2014

-Wondrous Indeed,Center for Fine Art Photography, Juror Phillip Toledano, Fort Collins, CO 2014

-The Story of the Creative,See Me Exhibition Space, Long Island City, NY 2013

-The Big Picture,Street Art, Juror Mark Sink, Denver, CO 2013

-Wow,Core New Art Gallery, Denver, CO 2013

-From Analog to Digital,Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Curator Rex Bruce, Los Angeles, CA 2011

-Scapes, Brooklyn Artist Gym, Brooklyn, NY 2011

-Look See: Photographs on Reflections, Brooklyn Artist Gym, Brooklyn, NY 2009

-American Society of Media Photographers Juried Show,Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO 2008

-Roles, Rites, & Rituals: Customs, Relationships, and Body Image, Pen and Brush, NY, NY 2007

Blogs and Photography Websites:

My photography has been seen on Lenscratch, aCurator, and Photo District News blogs.

Honors and Awards:

Photolucida Critical Mass Top 200 Finalist 2018

11th Pollux Awards: Portrait category, Winner 2018

11th Pollux Awards: People category, Honorable mention 2018

11th Pollux Awards: Culture and Daily Life category, Finalist 2018

Le Prix de la Photographie de Paris ( PX3 ), Portraiture / Culture, Honorable Mention 2018

Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA), Fine Art-Portrait category, Honorable Mention 2017

One of the 100 Photographers selected for Review Santa Fe at CENTER, 2017

Work Experience:
My photography clients have included: The New York Times, The Financial Times, NY Daily News, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Columbia University, Treasury and Risk Magazine, Robb Report Magazine, Showboats International Magazine, The New Times, among others.

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