Art on a Postcard International Women’s Day Auction - Curated by Sandra De Giorgi
23 FEBRUARY 2023 - 09 MARCH 2023Notes
About
Melitta Nemeth is a figurative artist based in London.
She graduated from the Camberwell College of Arts with an MA in Painting in 2021. Her work, Night Bathers 3, was included in London Grads. Now. 21 at the Saatchi Gallery and mentioned by Waldemar Januszczak in the article ’12 future starts of the art world you should know about’.
Nemeth explores the female gaze in painting. Her work continues a feminist response to an art history dominated by “the male artist’s disempowering idealization of the female body”. (Nochlin, 2006) While reinventing the depiction of woman from a female perspective she investigates the ideas of beauty, power, body-positivity, otherness and displacement. She creates safe spaces in her works, hidden from the patriarchal gaze. Nemeth uses photos from diverse sources as reference, including old photographs, newspaper illustrations and her own photos. She makes expressive paintings, investigating how meaning is formed through the material production of the image.
As a female artist, it is crucial for Nemeth to take ownership of the representation of women. Her work is concerned with changing the perception of the female body by depicting it as a place of joy, memory, experience and personal stories. She explores how women look at women and what the male gaze cannot see.
Her recent exhibitions include an online exhibition with Unit London and group shows with Tart Gallery and Liliya Art Gallery.
Education
2021 MA Painting Camberwell College of Arts
2004 BA Printmaking Hungarian University of Fine Arts
Select Exhibitions/Awards
2023
'To Touch You', Liliya Art Gallery
2022
Platform Exhibition, Unit London
'Power to Emotions', Tart Gallery in Fitzrovia Gallery
'Radiant Futures', Artcore Gallery, Derby (co-curator)
'An Allegory of Love and Time', New Normal Projects
2021
London Grads Now 2021, Saatchi Gallery
The Iridescent Collection, Made in Arts London, TM Lightning Gallery
MA Fine Art Graduate Showcase, South London Gallery
Home, Connection and Ritual, The Curation Society UAL
2020
STAND UP! Artcore Gallery, Derby (Prize Winner)
2019
Bow Open Show 2019, Nunnery Gallery, London
Gallery Representation
Tart Gallery, Liliya Art Gallery.
Statement about AOAP Submitted Artworks
The bathers in my works enjoy nature without the disruption of an objectifying gaze. The female figures become dark and powerful, existing only for themselves, free, on their own terms. I am inspired by images of wild swimmers and bathers. The original references are transformed by brush strokes or pencil marks, creating new meaning.
You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists, and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do. Anyone found doing so will be subject to legal action.