Waterfall is an immersive visual experience formed through color, shape, line, and light. Backlit by natural light, the dynamic work changes throughout the day, as subtle shifts in light and weather have a profound effect on the colors. The work’s title evokes the flux and movement of flowing water, a metaphor for the liminal spaces we pass through as we transition from one place to the next. Informed by her own practice as an artist, the mural offers travelers a moment of pause to observe and contemplate, enveloped in saffron yellow, deep orange, pine green, and cool blues.
What fascinates Dunn about a circle, square, or triangle is its mutability when it enters into new relationships with color, pattern, and placement. Even though she paints without recognizable imagery, content is important to her work. Source material for Dunn’s paintings comes from combining, interpreting, considering, and reconsidering the bits and pieces of raw material, impulses, inspirations, and signals she observes in her daily routine: “From the colors I see on a neighbor’s jacket while walking my dogs, to tire marks on the road, to the lush canopy of trees I live under here in Memphis, imagery for my work is everywhere.”
Melissa Dunn’s studio is in her house in Memphis, the city where she was born and has spent most of her life. She has taught art to children and adults for over ten years and is an active member of the Memphis arts community. Her work has been exhibited in local and regional venues, including multiple solo shows.
