Terra Cotta Barn with Pool and Spring Grass, 2024
"I am still captivated by the ideal of the holiday or vacation," she notes. "Or perhaps it's just simple pleasures that I relish. The simple row boat, the backyard pool, the tail-fin of a highly designed car from my parents' generation."
With animated, Pop-inspired colors and pared-down compositions, Melissa Chandon’s paintings push everyday scenes toward the brink of imaginative, dynamic abstraction. In her vibrant, graphic world infused with California light, landscape breaks down into basic elements—what she calls “core essence”—while shadows and reflections take on a life of their own. Wayne Thiebaud, who was a valuable mentor to Chandon, encouraged her to push forward with examination and determination. Thiebaud said of Chandon’s work: “She has developed an effective synthesis of abstract and representational elements in her works. This gives the works an intensity and raw graphic power to behold.”