Robert Melee

The Newark Arts Council is pleased to announce the opening of Red Badge of Courage, on Sunday, October 28th when it will present new work by 66 artists from New Jersey, New York and abroad in a 13,000 square foot space in downtown Newark .

Curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, the exhibition is based on the life and work of 19th century writer/poet/journalist Stephen Crane, a native of Newark. Although he died young, at age 28, Crane's work and life have inspired many artists throughout the years: His portrait was used by the Beatles on the cover of their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The 2001 film The Dark Riders was based on a Crane poem. And there have been a number of film versions of The Red Badge of Courage, the most famous of which was directed by John Huston and released in 1951. The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of a young man's life as a soldier during the American Civil War.

On Thursday, July 13th, 2006, Legion at Sensei is pleased to present Project# 5: Untitled, 2006, by Robert Melee. This project is the fifth of the first series of incidental groupings at LEGION. Project #1, Ricardo Valentim’s, Lecture n.1, 2006, Project #2, Rose Kallal’s Infinite Pyrite, 2006,Project #3, "I am a Camera Obscura", by Kaboom!Press, and Project #4, Spare Nothing, 2006, by William McMillin.

Robert Melee was born in 1966 in New Jersey, lives and works New York City/New Jersey. His solo exhibitions include the Corcoran Museum in Washington D.C. (2001), Art Basel Statements (2003) and Milwaukee Art Museum (2004). Group exhibitions include 'Greater New York' at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York (2005) and 'Adaptive Behavior' at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2004). Robert Melee’s work is represented by Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York.

Intimacy, kitsch, sexuality, and subculture are integral themes of Robert Melee’s work. Often taking his relationship to his outlandish mother as his subject, Melee’s photos, videos, installations, and performances blur the boundaries between private life and theater. Using lurid 70s furniture Melee’s projects provide a stage of eccentric domesticity: often lined with personal photographs and home videos they display the mementos of his unorthodox family. Entrenched in queer culture, Melee’s work is a celebration of difference, revealing an alternative lifestyle with endearing and unabashed candor.

When asked about his project for Legion at Sensei Melee stated…“Holiday decorations are complete Boloneyism: meaning, the absurd gesture of decorating your home with disposable, tacky, cheap materials with the purpose to deny routine and glamorize the banal. Melee will be decking the halls and creating an untitled site-specific installation @ Legion. Merry fucking Christmas.”

Melee's work, while seemingly reproducing the mundane and abject nature of a certain kind of working-class suburban experience, actually turns reality on it's head, offering a sensationalistic and gleefully artificial vision which can only be mistaken for reality in the same way that "reality TV" can.
Additionally, Legion will be screening Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s film “Beware of The Holy Whore”, 1992 in the basement.

LEGION at Sensei is a gallery and incidental space conceived by Lisa Kirk and Joe Latimore located at 66 Kenmare Street (between Mott and Mulberry) on the border of New York City’s Nolita and Chinatown.

LEGION is an ongoing rotation of video and film, as well as, site specific projects that are custom designed and integrated into Sensei by select international, emerging, mid-career and senior artists.

LEGION will attempt to debut a new project weekly and sensei will host an opening event celebrating the artist' contribution to the space in the tradition of NYC underground parties.

LEGION is not a conventional gallery. LEGION will specialize in facilitating private commissions by the exhibiting artists to collectors staying true to an anti commercial gallery model.

LEGION will announce when it is open to the public via LEGION@LEGIONnyc.com (sign up here)

LEGION is grateful for the support of sensei, joe latimore, matthew lusk, marco antonini, and all of our LEGIONnaires.