MELISSA JOSEPH conjures works in felted wool that describe a reckoning with past and place. The works transfigure memories and images from Joseph’s family archive into works that resemble clouds or dream bubbles. The unique materiality of the wool is employed to reference both the selective specificity of individual memories, and the distortion of recollection. Joseph’s artistic practice draws on her experience as a bi-racial woman, addressing belonging and family through the lens of social confines, expectations, and inequities.
Melissa Joseph received her BA from New York University, New York, NY, her AAS from Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY, her MAT from Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, and her MFA from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. She has exhibited at Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA; PAFA Museum, Philadelphia, PA, Bemis Contemporary Art Center, Omaha, NE; Textile Arts Center, New York, NY; The Painting Center, New York, NY; Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA; The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE; and many other institutions. She is the recipient of the BRIC Media Arts Fellowship, PAFA Alumni Trust Award, and many other awards.
