Mellon on Dance

From the time I began sculpting, some forty years ago, I’ve been intrigued with the challenge of revealing beauty while capturing balance and motion.  Some of my earliest choreographer-inspired dance bronzes, including Graham Contraction and Horton Balance Technique, addressed this challenge.  Other works explored the way dancers carry themselves dancing, while at rest, or while stretching, often in response to the previous rigorous pose.  I’ve been a close observer of dance, as Degas and Rodin were before me, and I often refer back to their works when conceiving or resolving my own.

Many of my dance bronzes celebrate the strength and independence I admire in contemporary women.  Over time the poses I’ve chosen have become more complex.  My use of gesture and anatomy has become more nuanced.  Each dancer’s portrait is meant to evoke the inner life of the dancer, and resonate with the dancer’s or choreographer’s intent.  When I speak with dancers and choreographers about their work and mine, we share much common ground.

The Pas de Deux Series

My earliest Pas de Deux sculptures where created thirty years ago.  These past few years I’ve returned to the theme with a renewed passion and focus.  In the process I’ve produced a series of works that have both dancers and admirers of dance have embraced.  Each dancer brings years, or decades of training to what he or she does.  I strive to capture the dancer’s intent, and to elicit from the viewer something of the emotional response we feel when we view dancers dancing in performance.