Melora Griffis' club lights 1 is an 18 x 23 inch mixed media painting with glitter and thread on muslin. Showing the dark wood paneled interior of a well-appointed lounge in a private men's club, the ornate ceiling, sparkling chandelier, tall, heavily draped windows and luxurious seating are all alluded to with Griffis' economy of line and lush palette. Hand stitching defines the lines of the sofa and its throw pillows, the chairs, and the drapes, while white glitter gives a seductive sparkle to the lamps and chandelier. Warm, deep browns and oxblood reds of the walls and curtains contrast with the oranges and buttery yellows of the carpet and soft furniture. A glowing coffered ceiling echos the light of the lamps and chandelier. An intimate, hushed interior scene, the artist evokes the private world of an exclusive men's club. Griffis states, "authentic expression is the consistent through line in my work," and her paintings take on a metaphorical quality, of memory, desire and perhaps even the mystical. In his ARTnews review of Griffis' solo exhibition at 571 Projects NYC, critic Doug McClemont wrote, "With their (...) dramatic use of color, Griffis' works conveyed the impression that memories and retellings can be strangely cloaked and yet, nevertheless, poignant."
A native New Yorker, Griffis received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts (Montpelier, VT). She has had solo exhibitions at the Pamela Williams Gallery (Amagansett, NY), Lizan Tops Gallery and AE Gallery (both East Hampton, NY), Whitney Art Works (Greenport, NY), The Re Institute (Millerton, NY) and 571 Projects (New York, NY). Her work has been included in group shows at Edward Thorp Gallery (New York, NY), White Columns (New York, NY), Bowman/Bloom Gallery (New York, NY), Michael Steinberg (New York, NY), Silas Marder (Bridgehampton, NY), Ille Arts, (Amagansett, NY), Sara Nightingale Gallery, (Sag Harbor, NY) and Boltax Gallery (Shelter Island, NY) among others. Griffis has received fellowships from Le Moulin à Nef (Auvillar, France), Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus (Schwandorf, Germany), the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, (Ithaca, NY), Schloss Pluschow (Mecklenberg-Vorpommern, Germany), The Edward F. Albee Foundation (Montauk, NY) and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (Amherst, VA). Melora Griffis lives and works in New York City.