* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Born in Chicago, IL, Melissa Huang received her BFA in Fine Arts Studio from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Currently, Melissa attends Georgia State University for her MFA in Drawing and Painting (expected May 2021). Her surreal oil paintings, prints, and sculptures explore digitally constructed bodies and identities.
Melissa explains her work by saying, “In my paintings and prints I explore multiplicity of identity. The way you are perceived and the way you present yourself changes from person to person. A different version of you exists in the minds of your family, friends, colleagues, strangers, and digital audience; none of which encompass your complete identity. Rather, each of these fragments come together to paint a fuller picture of “you”. I’m fascinated by the ways in which we construct these identities. Contemporary culture is obsessed with perfection, and digital image manipulation has blurred the lines between reality and the idealized self, creating an unsettling gap between who we really are and how we wish to be perceived. Much of our public image has become simulacra, representations of ourselves stripped of personal meaning and imbued with culturally constructed meaning.”.
Melissa is an Appraiser of Fine Art with a background working in galleries, museums, and archives.
Her work has been featured in publications including Fresh Paint Magazine, Art House Press, and Stone Canoe.
Melissa is a founding member of the Politits Art Coalition, a feminist art group that exhibits collaboratively and curates an annual Women’s Work exhibition.
