The Secret Life of Living Room Chairs

Ah, suburbia. Land of quietly bloated mortgages, neatly kept lawns, and the tyranny of unspoken codes of conduct. I heard of a subdivision once that banned homeowners from working on their own cars in their own driveways. Sends the wrong message was the company line, thus confirming the presence of weird pseudo-elitists among even the middle class. It takes a real artist to successfully capitalize on the tensions of relationships among average people in average neighborhoods; thankfully, Melissa Bryant is a real artist. Her favorite metaphors? Chairs, imaginary monsters, and intersections. Of the three, the power of the chairs, arranged always with a subtle but deliberate spacing that creates personal energy in the composition, may be the most mystifying. Family Portraits 2 and 3 represent this effect nicely, though each of the chair portraits is effective in its own right. (For a great conversation starter, place a print of Group Therapy in front of your guests and ask each person to identify the chair they think is moderating the discussion.)

Bryant’s creatures of fantasy, however, are no less figurative than the chairs. In Dryer Monster, a familiar snapshot of the ubiquitous “kid-eater” that every child imagines lurking just behind the dryer door, a familiar irony similarly surfaces in the idea that where we hide our unmentionables, other unmentionable things have a tendency to hide as well. And then there are the intersections. As mentioned earlier, suburban streets aren’t typically considered image fodder as powerful, as say, the concrete jungle of Harlem, but then again, none of Melissa Bryant’s art is typical. These are textured illustrations intentionally bereft of a human subject, encouraging society, as the famously de-populated draft of La Grande Jatte did two centuries ago, to seek meaning from the very environment it takes for granted. (And meaning you will certainly find.) Love this stuff yet? If you do, you’ll be thrilled to know the winner of today’s giveaway will receive the Melissa Bryant print ($20 or less) of his or her choice. To enter, visit Melissa's gallery here, then come back here to tell us about your favorite print. Wishing Willow subscribers earn an extra entry; be sure to let us know in a second post if you’re a subscriber. To post without a Google account, just click “anonymous.” Be sure to also leave your email address. The winner will be chosen randomly. Contest ends 10/30/08. Best of Luck!

**We have a winner! Jingle who said, "Okay, I have two that I love! LOL! Circle Time with the red chairs is amazing, but I like the Modern Chair print, too! I love all the reds!"**