Photographer Nick Mele holds his first superb artwork exhibition at The Colony in Palm Seaside
When photographer and Palm Seaside resident Nick Mele determined to carry his first superb artwork exhibition, he didn’t must assume lengthy about the place it could be held.
The gathering “Please Check in All Friends” is on show at The Colony, 155 Hammon Ave., by means of Feb. 1.
“The Colony is such an iconic place,” Mele mentioned, including that the house owners, Sarah and Andrew Wetenhall, have been very supportive of his work by means of the years. “I believed it matched very well with the content material and vibe of my work, and it labored out effectively as a result of a few of the photos are within the rooms completely in The Colony,” he mentioned. “So it was a great synergy.”
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Mele’s photographic work has been primarily industrial, with campaigns for firms together with Ralph Lauren and Lilly Pulitzer. He’s well-known for sharing glimpses into his residence life on his Instagram @a.social.life, with pictures that function his spouse and two kids.
“I’ve a really distinctive model and model that folks have preferred previously that has gotten me a certain quantity of following,” Mele mentioned of his industrial and private work.
He needed to carry that model to his superb artwork, however a lot of his images previously featured individuals locally or fashions, individuals who could be simply recognizable and won’t be welcome on a stranger’s wall. To create work that might be held on a patron’s wall, the topics in Mele’s superb artwork sequence are turned from the digital camera, carrying masks or in any other case obscuring their faces, including an air of anonymity to whimsical scenes.
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“It sort of takes you out of the images if the primary query you’ve got is, ‘Who’s that particular person?’” Mele mentioned.
The pictures which have been the most well-liked, he mentioned, are those to which individuals most relate: A girl smoking in a window. A person handed out on a sofa whereas his spouse relaxes close by. A toddler dressed as an astronaut stands over his breakfast.
Whereas the places might have been “fantastical,” Mele mentioned, there’s something in every picture that grounds it to actuality.
“I shoot loads of fabulous places and luxurious objects, and I feel what makes them relatable is the humor and the witticism and the tongue-in-cheek nature,” he mentioned.
Palm Seaside’s wealthy historical past makes it an excellent place for creating artwork, Mele mentioned. “I feel up till lately, loads of these identical households and homes have been round, have been introduced with these fabulous interiors and quirky characters,” he mentioned, including, “Palm Seaside is filled with actual life characters and tales, and it’s simply sort of taking these pictures and tales and making them just a little bit extra bigger than life.”
Included alongside the pictures of “Please Check in All Friends” are pictures from Mele’s superb artwork assortment created for The Colony as a part of the resort’s lately accomplished redesign.
Among the many pictures for The Colony are merely composed scenes stuffed with humor: A person struggles to stroll his Nice Danes alongside the seawall, whereas in one other shot, a lady rests close to a pool with an alligator in arm’s attain.
The alligator picture was the primary Mele shot for the sequence. Understanding the resort is animal-friendly, Mele needed to discover a solution to honor that.
“I all the time thought it could be nice to see what sort of animals you might get in there, that weren’t canines,” Mele mentioned. He researched, got here again with a listing and located he may hire an alligator.
“I considered concepts of what could be enjoyable with an alligator at The Colony,” he mentioned. “I nonetheless like the thought of flamingos within the foyer,” he added, laughing. “I haven’t counted that concept out but.”
After its keep in Palm Seaside, Mele plans to journey with “Please Check in All Friends.” The subsequent cease is Dallas, the place Mele additionally hopes to create extra pictures.
“There are loads of cities with wealthy historical past and tales and ambiance that might be good for this,” he mentioned, noting doable future visits to Aspen, Colorado, and Newport, Rhode Island. “I am open to loads of nice places.”
The collections could be considered in The Colony’s Solarium. Additionally they can be found to buy by means of Mele’s web site, www.nickmelefineart.com.