Working with the contrast between a minimal palette and intensive patterning (a dialog that allows the paintings to be simultaneously quiet yet depply activated), Douglas Melini makes hard-edge abstract paintings that investigate color and space. "I like to think of the [aintings as being built, put together part by part, creating a geometric net for the viewer, a vibratory field." The paintings' fields are both solid and porous, and while they are primarliy constructed as a mental or physiological expanse, even a cursory review of their titles suggesta that one may connect to this work in a variety of ways. The portal aspect of the paintings is magnified by the artist's recent addition of a hand-painted, patterned frame. "The frames (which function in more than one way) were created to reinforce the idea of an interior space, a space that continues to move back, deeper (not extending left or right or up and down) as they continously open and close. The frame also allows the paintings to be active from all viewing angles, giving them a sculptural prescence... In the short film Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames, we are taken on a journey through space, both macro and micro. The film depicts the relative scale of the universe in factors of ten. It is this type of space, a space that systematically continues to move inward, that is structured in the paintings." For some time now, I've thought of my paintings as transporters, signposts, and images that allow one to consider how one sees things, helping one to get from one space to the next. The paintings reflect my interest in visual vibrations and how our body and mind respond to vibratory experiences. I believe that art can function as a decoder, providing insights into how the orld looks; a way of connecting the dots, and really seeing things." tDouglas Melini was born in VIneland NJ in 1972, has a BA from the Univerity of Maryland (1994), an MFA from Calfornia Institute of the Arts(1997), and currently lives and works in Brooklyn. A Sharing of Color and Being Part of It is his first one-person exhibition with Feature Inc.

Favorable Transformations, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 71.5 x 45.5 x 1.75”

Its Brilliance Calmed, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 23.5 x 19.5 x 1.75”

A Visible Sound, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 53.5 x 45.5 x 1.75”>

Untitled, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 63.5 x 53.5 x 1.75”

This Imagined World, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 21.5 x 23.5 x 1.75”

Metaphysica, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 23.5 x 19.5 x 1.75”

Invisible Change, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 23.5 x 19.5 x 1.75”

Accessible Bliss, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 63.5 x 59.5 x 1.75”

Accessible Bliss, 2012 (detail)

That Purple Odor, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 67.5 x 45.5 x 1.75”

To Be Large in Space, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 63.5 x 59.5 x 1.75”

Untitled, 2012; acrylic paint on canvas with hand-painted frame; 23.5 x 19.5 x 1.75”