{"id":43,"date":"2012-02-27T17:23:49","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T17:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melanievote.com.previewdns.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=43"},"modified":"2025-10-26T20:54:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:54:20","slug":"cv","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/cv\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Melanie Vote grew up on a functional farm in Iowa, but has lived in NYC for over 20 years. Her work straddles these two worlds, investigating the complexities of the human-land relationship, the cyclical nature of all life, and the impossibility of permanence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In temperate months she works remotely, painting outside. She is a visual scavenger collecting passages, then returns to the studio to reconstruct layers of a place, weaving them together into open-ended narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She received her BFA from Iowa State University and her MFA in Painting from New York Academy of Art. Vote was a recipient of a Pollock\u2010Krasner Foundation Grant in 2007 and has been awarded many residencies including The Vermont Studio Center<\/em>, Jentel <\/em>in Banner, WY, AHAD<\/em> in Abu Dhabi, UAE, The Grand Canyon<\/em> and most recently, The Weir Farm<\/em> program in CT.
Vote has taught at NYAA and NJCU, The New School and Pratt Institute. Additionally, Vote has been a visiting artist at numerous schools including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work has been exhibited nation-wide and internationally. In New York at  Flowers Gallery, The Lodge Gallery, Sloan Fine Art and DFN Gallery where the she had her first solo exhibition in 2008.  Additionally her work has been shown at the Indiana Contemporary Art Center, Jenkins-Johnson Gallery of CA, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, with solo exhibitions at Galleria Farina in Miami and Hionas Gallery of New York, The Hangaram Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea, and at ADAH, Abu Dhabi while an artist in residence there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vote\u2019s most recent solo exhibition, The Washhouse, Nothing Ever Happened Here<\/em>, at Equity Gallery opened March 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

contact: <\/strong>melanievote@gmail.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Statement<\/summary>\n

I am a New York City-based painter, deeply moved by the natural world and committed to capturing it through plein-air painting. Painting in the landscape is where I am happiest and gain the most inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To gain the experiential, I begin every painting from life in the tradition of plein air painting. I need to step into the landscape alongside the trees, plants, and minute signs of life and ask, what is our place here? Then I continue to synthesize the experience in the studio.

<\/em>The narratives may appear haunting. They intend to serve as a reminder of our temporary place here as humans. We are not permanent nor invincible. Death is the Great Unifier.<\/em> Time passes so quickly, and we are here so briefly, what will we leave behind as a marker of our time? I am visually exploring the nature of impermanence, a belief that nothing remains constant. My focus has solidified into an exploration of existence as a constant state of metamorphosis. The only thing constant is change itself, the antithesis of what realistic painting really is. This has become the impetus for metaphorical narratives defined by the juxtaposition of diverse visual elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a visual scavenger, collecting and weaving together layers of a place. My process involves creating and documenting interactions between figures and landscapes. Although sometimes, landscapes unpeopled, they depict evidence of their passing (through objects artifact or stains). Painting outdoors makes me feel vitally aware and alive. It is a sort of athletic event and when the painting emerges after an intense session, there is a sense of satisfaction in carrying it back like a fisherman with a fresh catch. In the studio, informed by these collected images and experiences, is time for reflection and synthesis into larger finished works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, a gallery space is a place to transform and create new experiences.<\/em> Paintings, seen with found and made objects or site-specific elements, are woven together to tell a story. Cumulatively, these elements provide physical and visual links between the paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over a decade now, I have had the great gift of visiting a poet friend in Iowa\u2019s Loess Hills. These consecutive summer month-long retreats have allowed for uninterrupted time painting outdoors, resulting in studies that have become the subject of new studio work. This area of rugged bluffs 100 miles from where I grew up with it\u2019s hilly and natural prairie has had a profound impact on me and has changed my perceptions of my home state. While visiting Iowa I also spend time at my father\u2019s working farm. I find the juxtaposition of these two subtly different worlds fascinating: the one, a life of preservation while living in unity with the environment; and the other, relying on the earth for sustenance. Painting outdoors in the summer enveloped by the natural world, serenaded by the elements, I feel flooded with energy. All the while, painting on my father\u2019s working farm, I must be literally prepared to move out of the way of progress at a moments notice. Additionally, a clear difference resides between the two places. In 2015, my father\u2019s farm was leveled by a tornado that in seconds wiped out years of existence, layers of visual memory along with two large Sycamore trees.  Luckily, no one was hurt. And, fortunatey they could rebuild. They now have a new home and out-buildings. Although these new structures are highly functional, theprefab pressboard facades are void of the psychic energy and stories held by those old ancient structures like the washhouse.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

CV<\/summary>\n
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Born 1973 in Iowa
Lives and works in New York City<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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EDUCATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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M.F.A. 1998
Painting<\/strong>, The Graduate School of Figurative Art of the New York Academy of Art,(cum laude) New York, NY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.F.A.1995
Art and Design<\/strong>, Iowa State University, Ames, IA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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AWARDS \u2013 RESIDENCIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Cill Rialaig Project, Artist in Residence, Ballinskelligs Ireland
2022 Weir Farms NHS, Artist in Residence, Wilton CT
2020 NYAA PTF Development Fund for Washhouse catalog.
2019 AHAD, International Artist in Residency, KSA
2017 June, Artist in Residence, National Park Services, Grand Canyon, AZ
2017 The New School PTF Development Fund for The Residency in the Grand Canyon.
2025-1999 Resident Artist, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center, NYC
2016 Pratt Faculty Development Grantee, Partial Funding for Overgrowth.
2013 AHAD, Artist in Residency, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2009 Jentel, Artist in Residency, Banner Wyoming
2007 Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant
2007 Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City Residency
2003 The Rosenthal Foundation Best of Show Award, annual 54th Art of the North East, at Silvermine GuildArtsCenter
2002 Full Fellowship for an Artist in Residency at the Vermont Studio Center, Sponsored by the Dodge Foundation
1997 Academic Scholarship Award, New York Academy of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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SOLO EXHIBITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025 Consulting with the Light Eaters<\/em>, Equity Gallery, NY
2023 Night & Day<\/em>, Main Window Dumbo, NY
2020 The Washhouse,<\/em> Equity Gallery, NY
2016 Overgrowth<\/em>, Hionas Gallery, NY
2015 All that Remains<\/em>, Galleria Farina, Miami Florida
2014 Looking Back, Moving Forward<\/em>, Curator: Brendan Carroll, Hamilton Square, Jersey City, NJ
2013 Resident Exhibition<\/em> AHAD, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2011 Traces<\/em>, Hionas Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Lost and Found<\/em>, Lemmerman Gallery, NJCU, Jersey City, NJ
2008 Trepidations<\/em>, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2005 Laptop Series<\/em>, Realform Project Space, Curator: David Gibson Brooklyn, NY,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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GROUP EXHIBITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025
Wish List,<\/em> DFN Projects, presented by Garvey|Simon, NY, NY
2024
Orwell\u2019s Roses<\/em>, High Desert Gallery, Brooklyn NY
Among Friends<\/em>, Metaphor Projects, Organized by Beth Dary, Patricia Fabricant & Alexandra R.Brock
Dreamland<\/em>, FORMah Gallery, New York, NY
2023
Concurrence<\/em>, DFN Projects, presented by Garvey|Simon, NY, NY
More is Never Enough<\/em>, Field Projects online exhibition, curated by Triton Modley, Jacob Rhodes, Kris Racaniello, Lisa Schilling and Tracy Thu Li
Among Friends<\/em>, Equity Gallery, Organized by Beth Dary, Patricia Fabricant & Alexandra R.Brock Faculty Exhibition, NYAA, New York, NY
Among Friends<\/em>, Equity Gallery, Organized by Beth Dary, Patricia Fabricant & Alexandra R.Brock
2022
Personal Geographies<\/em>, Equity Gallery, curated by Alaiyo Bradshaw and, Matt Rota, New York, NY
Among Friends<\/em>, Equity Gallery, organized by Alexandra R. Brock, Beth Dury and Patricia Fabricant, New York, NY
Occupy Project,<\/em> Consulate of France, curated by Eirini Linardaki, New York, NY
2021
I\u2019M NOT DONE WITH THAT, Artists That Refuse to Put Away Their Toys <\/em>, Equity Gallery, curated by Linda Griggs New York NY
TEN the inaugural exhibition<\/em> at Hionas Gallery\u2019s new space, NYC
AMZehnder Gallery, curated by Anne-Marie Zehender, Wellfleet MA
Shades of Blue: Drawings, Watercolors and Works on Paper,<\/em> Equity Gallery, Portraits<\/em>, Inc. and RayMar Art, curated by Michael Gormley and Patricia Watwood, New York, NY and Birmingham, AL
The Washhouse One Year Later,<\/em> Equity Gallery, A socially engaged Happening\/Installation in conjunction with the catalog release of The Washhouse, Nothing Ever Happened Here, Melanie Vote (2020)
2020
NYC<\/em>, an Online Exhibition, curated by Rick Davidman and Lisa Lebofsky of DFN Projects in collaboration with 33 Contemporary Gallery via Artsy
Biophilia,<\/em> Sugarlift an Online Exhibition, New York, NY
Occupy Project,<\/em> Consulate General of Greece in New York, NY
2019
Movie Night<\/em>, Ille Arts, Curated by Rick Davidman and Sara de Luca, Amagansett, NY,
2018
Getting Personal<\/em>, SFA Projects, Curated by Kay Sirikul Pattachote NYC Natural Proclivities<\/em>, Co-curators: Kim Power and Melanie Vote, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC, New York, NY
This Land Is\u2026<\/em> Arcadia Gallery, Culver City, CA
2017
Fun House<\/em>, Galerie Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 , Curator: Dominick Lombardi, NYC
The Palette Show<\/em>, Abend Gallery, Curators: Dina Brodsky and David Ethridge, Denver Colorado
Eyes of an Artist<\/em>, Panepinto Gallery, Curator: Stephanie Panepinto
2016
Modern Oracle<\/em>, Trestle Projects, Curator: Melissa Staiger
The Palette Show<\/em>, The Lodge Gallery, Curator: Dina Brodsky, NYC
2015
Tell Them Stories,<\/em> Mark Miller Gallery, Curators: Tun Myaing, Marshall Jones, New York, NY
New Narratives<\/em>, Storefront TenEyck, Curator: Deborah Brown, Brooklyn, NY
All|Together|Different,<\/em> Manny Cantor Center, Curators: Yona Verwer, Linda Griggs, New York, NY
2014
LUCID VISIONS<\/em> curated by Diana Corvelle, Cara DeAngelis and Tun Myaing, Panepinto Gallery, NJ
REAL on Rock Street,<\/em> BOS, Curators: Deborah Brown & Leslie Heller, Brooklyn, NY
Human Extension<\/em>, The Lodge Gallery, Curator: Amy Berger, New York, NY
2013
Body Politic<\/em>, National Arts Club, Curators: Courtney Jordan and Kristin Kunc
Eye on the Storm,<\/em> Rauschenberg Gallery, Curator: D Dominick Lombardi, Ft Myers Florida
2012
Korea Tomorrow<\/em>, Hyper Narrative, Seoul, South Korea
Year One,<\/em> Hionas Gallery, New York
NY Summer Exhibition,<\/em> Flowers Gallery, Curators: David Ebony, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Steven Zevitas, New York NY
The Drawing Room<\/em>, Malavek Hakimi Gallery, curators: Dina Brodsky, Karl Koett, Tun Myaing, New York NY
In Their Own World<\/em>, Tache\u2019 Gallery, Curated by D. Dominick Lombardi, New York NY
Toy Stories,<\/em> Westport Art Center Curated by D. Dominick Lombardi, Westport CT
Love is in the Air,<\/em> Curated by Michelle Doll and Island Weiss, The Cell, NYC
2011
The Longest Night<\/em>, Gowanus Ballroom, Brooklyn, NY
Paintworks<\/em>, Gowanus Ballroom, Brooklyn, NY
NYAA Summer Exhibition,<\/em> Flowers Gallery New York, NY
2010
Draw \u2013 tour<\/em>, Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico June 19 \u2013 August 15 Curators: Erik Foss and Curse Mackey \u2013 Special Guest Curator: Miguel Calderon Museum Director: Cristina Faesler.
Nature Calls<\/em>, SICA, Long Branch, NJ
Just Off,<\/em> Sloan Fine Art, Curators: Peter Drake and Alix Sloan, New York, NY
Looks Good on Paper,<\/em> DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2009
Reconfigured & Relocated,<\/em> DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Dangerous Women<\/em>, DFN Gallery, Curator: Julie Lohnes and John Nickel, New York, NY
Trading Places<\/em>, Pro Arts\/Canco Lofts, Jersey City, NJ, Curator: Hugo Bastidas
Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY
Becoming:Visions of Childhood<\/em>, Bronfman Center Gallery, Curator: Lois Stavsky, New York,NY
The Toy Show,<\/em> Hans Wiess Newspace Gallery, Curator: Susan Classen-Sullivan, Manchester,CT
Works on Paper,<\/em> DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2007
Small is Beautiful,<\/em> Flowers Gallery, New York, NY Wet, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
REPRESENTATION<\/em>, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Summer Exhibition, NYAA, Committee: Vincent Desiderio, Eric Fischl and Jenny Saville, New York, NY
The Beholders Eye<\/em>, Salmagundi Art Club, Curator: Katherine Chapin New York, NY Draw, Gallery Lombardi, Curator: Erik Foss and Curse Mackey Austin, TX
2006
The Bridge Art Fair<\/em>-Other Events of Art Basel\/Miami Beach,DFN Gallery Miami, FL
Palpable Painting<\/em>, Kresge and Pascal Galleries Berrie Center, Ramapo College, Curator: Sydney Jenkins Ramapo, NJ
2005
10th Anniversary Show<\/em>, DFN Gallery New York, NY
The Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Juror: Stephen Westfall Chautauqua, NY
Night and Day,<\/em> Women\u2019s Caucus for Art, Juror: Helen Cooper Fairfield, CT
2004
4 Artist\/4 Walls, Interior Paintings<\/em>, DFN Gallery, Curator: John Nickel New York, NY
The Drawn Page, <\/em>The Hersam Acorn Newspaper and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Curators: Harry Philbrick and Jessica Hough Ridgefield, CT
Alumni Exhibition,1st Annual Juried Exhibition<\/em> for the New York Academy of Art Alumni Association, Stricoff Fine Art New York, NY
Martha and Me,<\/em> Gallery Onetwentyeight, Curator: Elisa Soliven New York, NY
NJCU Faculty Exhibition<\/em>, Lemmerman Gallery, Curator: Midori Yoshimoto Jersey City, NJ
2003
Group Show<\/em>, Rotunda Gallery of Jersey City, City Hall Jersey City, NJ
2003
54th Art of the Northeast<\/em>, Silvermine Art Center, Juror: Harry Philbrick New Canaan, CT
Selected Works<\/em>, Solo Exhibit Ground Jersey City, NJ
Convergence,<\/em> NYAA Alumni Exhibition New York, NY
2000
Art at Barrow Mansion<\/em>, Jersey City Art Tour, Curator: Kimberly Ewald Jersey City, NJ
Group Show, <\/em>Gallery 156, Curator: Matthew Greenway Brooklyn, NY
1999
Beyond Appropriation<\/em>, NYAA Alumni Exhibition, Juror: Philip Pearlstein New York, NY
1998
M.F.A. Exhibition<\/em>, New York Academy of Art New York, NY
1995
B.F.A. Exhibition<\/em>, ISU Fisher Theater Gallery Space Ames, IA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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VISITING ARTIST LECTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Visiting Artist\/Painting Workshop, Lewis and Clark State Park, Onawa Iowa
2023 Guest Artist, co-sponsors BEHOLD & Tree Wonder Washington Square Park, NYC
2022 Visiting Artist\/Painting Workshop, Lewis and Clark State Park, Onawa Iowa
2019 Visiting Artist\/Painting Workshop, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa
2019 Keynote Speaker\/Presenter, The Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, Onawa Iowa
2014 Visiting Artist\/Juror, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa 2013 Visiting Artist, Philadelphia Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia PA
2011 Visiting Artist at Fairfield University, Fairfeild CT
2009 Visiting Lecturer, Pratt-Munson Wilson Proctor, Utica NY
2008 Visiting Critic, New York Academy of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2003-2025 Adjunct Professor at New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ
2016-2025 Adjunct, New York Academy of Art, NYC Course: Painting III (MFA)
2024-2025 Instructor, New York Academy of Art, NYC Course: Figure Drawing (CE)
2020-2024 Adjunct, Marymount Manhattan College, Painting and Drawing
2021 Adjunct, FIT, NYC Online, co-teaching with Cheryl Giesbach, Painting Process 3
2013-20 Adjunct, The New School, NYC Course: Drawing and Imaging
2015-16 Visiting Instructor, Pratt, Brooklyn Campus
2013-16 Visiting Instructor, AOS Program at Pratt, Manhattan Campus NYC,
2008-13 Assistant Adjunct Professor at York College, Jamaica, NY.
2003-11 Assistant Adjunct Professor at Hofstra New College, Hempstead NY.
2009 Visiting Lecturer, Pratt-Munson Wilson Proctor, Utica NY
2008 Visiting Artist, NYAA, New York NY
2003 Visiting Instructor in the Pre-College Summer Program at Pratt, Manhattan Campus NYC
2003 Adjunct Instructor at Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica,
2001 Instructor at NYAA in the Continuing Education Program, Mural Painting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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BIBLIOGRAPHY\/ PRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025 Brainard Carey, WYBC Yale Radio, discusses with Melanie Vote about our recent shows in New York City
2020 John Mendelson, D\u2019ART International, Review of The Washhouse House: Nothing Ever Happened Here
2019 Peter Drake, Art Pulse, Review of Natural Proclivities
2018 Mike Gusev, The Blue Review, The Blue Review, Down to Earth \u2014 on a new level, Natural Proclivities, July 2018
2016 Daniel Maidman, Growers and Makers, Huffington Post, March ART (inter) NEW YORK : Interview\u2013 Melanie Vote by Keith Schweitzer on March 16th Kim Power, Quantum Art Review, March
2014 Brendan Carroll, Looking Back Moving Forward, April 15th
2013 Laura Gonzalez: It Fashion Magazine, Barcelona Spain, January 9th 2011 Brendan Carroll, Interview in The Jersey Journal, March 11th
2008 Kobasa, Stephen Vincent, review with photograph, Hartford Advocate, Hartford CT, February 28th
2008 Finkelstein, Alix, review with photograph, The New York Sun, January,3rd
2005 Bannon, Anthony, review The Chautauquan Daily, Chautauqua, New York, Weekend Edition, July 9th
2005 Wiley, Lois, Erie Show Case, exhibition review with photograph, Chautauqua, New York, July 7th<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

College Art Association Conference, 2011, New York, New York College Art Association Conference, 2007, New York, New York College Art Association Conference, 2003, New York, New York College Art Association Conference, 2002, Philadelphia, PA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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AFFILIATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

College Art Association Alumni Association of the New York Academy of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melanie Vote grew up on a functional farm in Iowa, but has lived in NYC for over 20 years. Her work straddles these two worlds, investigating the complexities of the human-land relationship, the cyclical nature of all life, and the impossibility of permanence. In temperate months she works remotely, painting outside. She is a visual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-no-title","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-43","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4659,"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43\/revisions\/4659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanievote.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}