In 2023 Melissa Gordon produced a collaborative publication with the Frans Masereel Centrum titled “Vital Signs”. It not only encapsulates a decade of profound writings on painting and gestures but also showcases the expansive “Female Readymades” series that has been her focal point since 2018.
Proficient in screen-printing, Gordon delved deeper during a five-week residency in January 2023. Driven by a profound desire to redefine historical terms with contentious pasts, Gordon embarked on the creation of an edition for Hibernus #2. This endeavour posed a fundamental question: how to represent a body of monoprints while retaining a connection to her ongoing painting series. Her paintings, initially exploring the portrayal of gravity through hanging grids, draw inspiration from Duchamp’s “Pendu Femelle” and the recontextualization of readymades.
Central to her practice are the interrogation of historic ‘wrongs’ and the appropriation of gestures. Gordon’s work aims to illuminate pivotal moments in art history, acknowledging the overshadowed contributions of female artists while reclaiming gestures within her own paintings.
For the Frans Masereel Centrum edition, Gordon opted for a limited quantity. Each edition comprises meticulously aligned sheets. Within these, a unique painting is ensconced within a grid, adorned with ropes, chains and excerpts from books – an homage to stolen moments in history.
The gestures traverse the papers, narrating Gordon’s poignant exploration of art, history and redefined narratives. Each edition encapsulates a distinct visual tale.
Discover the edition here in our bookshop.
In 2023 Melissa Gordon produced a collaborative publication with the Frans Masereel Centrum titled “Vital Signs”. It not only encapsulates a decade of profound writings on painting and gestures but also showcases the expansive “Female Readymades” series that has been her focal point since 2018.
Proficient in screen-printing, Gordon delved deeper during a five-week residency in January 2023. Driven by a profound desire to redefine historical terms with contentious pasts, Gordon embarked on the creation of an edition for Hibernus #2. This endeavour posed a fundamental question: how to represent a body of monoprints while retaining a connection to her ongoing painting series. Her paintings, initially exploring the portrayal of gravity through hanging grids, draw inspiration from Duchamp’s “Pendu Femelle” and the recontextualization of readymades.
Central to her practice are the interrogation of historic ‘wrongs’ and the appropriation of gestures. Gordon’s work aims to illuminate pivotal moments in art history, acknowledging the overshadowed contributions of female artists while reclaiming gestures within her own paintings.
For the Frans Masereel Centrum edition, Gordon opted for a limited quantity. Each edition comprises meticulously aligned sheets. Within these, a unique painting is ensconced within a grid, adorned with ropes, chains and excerpts from books – an homage to stolen moments in history.
The gestures traverse the papers, narrating Gordon’s poignant exploration of art, history and redefined narratives. Each edition encapsulates a distinct visual tale.
Discover the edition here in our bookshop.
