Saul Melman’s work integrates the vitality of matter with conceptual manifestations of the body. He creates immersive environments, sculpture, photography and performance. Melman employs an experimental process of making, with a wide variety of materials, allowing the physical nature of material to guide the form and content of the work.

 

The Heliogram project was created in the high desert of Joshua Tree, California and is informed by the writings of the 16th century mystic, Jakob Böhme. In order to collect the desert’s intense light, Melman converted a 500sq/ft container into a giant pinhole camera. The camera’s aperture was aimed at a stage set composed of materials with varied degrees of reflectivity. From daybreak to noon, when the angle of the sun’s rays was most concentrated, Melman performed a sequence of ritualistic actions, captured as a series of unique, 7-minute exposures.

 

Saul Melman lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Melman has exhibited at MoMAPS1, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art and Whitney Museum of American Art amongst others. He has a long-term installation at MoMAPS1.

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