Marble Park by Melbourne Artist Sean Meilak

Temple, 2016. Plaster, oxide pigment, MDF, acrylic paint, wood, UniBond adhesive, PVA. 60 x 30 x 30cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Marble Park, 2016. Plaster, marble, steel, MDF, acrylic paint, enamel, UniBond adhesive & PVA. 33 x 30 x 30cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Roman Graffiti, 2016. Plaster, wire, paper, pencil, paper mounted on board, MDF, enamel acrylic paint, PVA. 60 x 30 x 30cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Silent Era, 2016. Plaster, oxide pigment, MDF, acrylic paint. 80 x 175 x 60cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

L’Eclisse #1-3, 2016. Plaster, steel, wood, UniBond adhesive & oxide pigment. L to R: 33 x 13 x 13cm, 36 x 17 x 13cm, 17 x 22 x 11cm. Bench: 30 x 120 x 30cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

The Marriage, 2016. Marble granite, plaster, MDF, acrylic paint, PVA. L: 105 x 35 x 35cm. R: 102 x 35 x 35cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Archaeology and Melodrama #1-6, 2016. Feather, cork, MDF, acrylic paint, PVA, oxide pigment, UniBond adhesive & plaster. L to R: 1. 95 x 38 x 43cm, 2. 105 x 50 x 50cm, 3. 83 x 22 x 22cm, 4. 100 x 35 x 35cm, 5. 107 x 45 x 38cm. Height 105cm. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Installation view at Niagara Gallery. Photo by Leah Holscher.

In his current solo exhibition titled ‘Marble Park’, on show at Melbourne’s Niagara Gallery until February 25th, Sean Meilak has created a richly layered body of work that explores the mystery and meaning of objects through painting, drawing, sculpture and installation. Blurring the boundaries between still life, set design and mise-en-scene, Meilak’s work examines artifice, the artefact and the cultural constructs of display.

Utilising an intensely coloured palette, Meilak creates still life paintings based on found and fabricated objects. These works take on both metaphysical and surreal qualities, creating dreamlike spaces, influenced by the paintings of De Chirico, Morandi, Magritte and the theatrical and psychological environments created in the films of Michelangelo Antonioni and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Showing alongside this series of paintings are a number of sculptures, sculptural installation sand orthographic pencil drawings of ambiguous forms, continuing Meilak’s interest in exploring the potential of rendering the object in new and mysterious ways.

La Féria, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 76 x 66.5cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Green, Pink and Blue Arrangement, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 81.5 x 61cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Purple and Orange Arrangement, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 51 x 51cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Gleam, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 40 x 51cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Soft Arrangement, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 51 x 41cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Natura Morta, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 51 x 41cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Blind Construction, 2016. Materials include; oil on linen. 51 x 41cm. Photo by Mark Ashkanasy.

Rotations and Undulations #1-12, 2016. Materials include; pencil on paper. 50.5 x 67cm each. Photo by Peter Rozetsky.

Born in 1975, Sean Meilak works in a variety of mediums including painting, gouache, drawing, video, sculpture and installation. He is interested in the psychology of space and his work references the architecture of ancient Rome, film set design as well as modern and postmodern art and design movements. He is particularly influenced by Surrealism, Italian furniture design and the theatrical environments created by filmmakers such as Antonioni and Fassbinder.

After completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1997, Meilak acted as Co-Director and Programme Co-ordinator of 1st Floor Artists and Writers Space, until 2002. He was a studio artist at 200 Gertrude Street (2000-2002) and in 2006 he undertook an Australia Council residency at the Cité International des Arts in Paris.

Meilak currently lives and works in Melbourne.