Art on a Postcard International Women’s Day Auction - Curated by Sandra De Giorgi

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. 

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