Nathaniel Mellors
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Mellors is a British
artist and musician
.
and the Royal College of Art
.
Mellors makes installations "packed with ad-hoc sculpture, psychedelic theatre and absurdist, satirical film". Mellors output includes installation, sculpture, film and video, music, performance, collage, painting, prints and critical writing.
His work in the show Art Now: The Way in Which it Landed, curated by Ryan Gander at Tate Britain
in 2008, was Thinking Rock Speaks, an empty speech bubble made of steel attached to a lump of alabaster. Jonathan Griffin in Frieze
magazine said that Mellors "gets the last laugh ... Sometimes there really is just nothing to say."
In 2002 Mellors co-founded Junior Aspirin Records
, a not-for-profit record label
releasing music by artists in limited editions. Mellors plays bass in the art-rock group Skill 7 Stamina 12 with Dan Fox, Ashley Marlowe and Maaike Schoorel
, and has also released music with Toilet, God in Hackney, Mysterius Horse and under his own name.
In 2009 at the South London Gallery
, he put on a one night stage version of his film, The Time Surgeon. Jessica Lack in The Guardian
described the variety of styles and genres in his films, "skimming off a wide range of artistic references from prog rock to hit TV series The Prisoner, with which he creates brilliantly offbeat installations".
He was represented in the Tate Trienniel 2009, Altermodern, by a work Giantbum 2009, based on a story written by him about a party of medieval explorers who lose their way in the body of a giant. The work used film and animatronic heads. Adrian Searle
in The Guardian
said:
The work was also exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum
, Amsterdam, and a variant of it at Centro Cultural Montehermoso in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
In summer 2009, Mellors was commissioned by the BBC
to make a short "work of modern art" to introduce the final episode of the cultural history series The Seven Ages of Britain, presented by David Dimbleby
and directed by Jonty Claypole. The resultant work The Seven Ages of Britain Teaser featured Dimbleby voicing a silicon mask cast from his own face, alongside actors Gwendoline Christie
(as 'The Operator') and Johnny Vivash (as 'Kadmus'). The work was broadcast on BBC One
on the 21 March 2010 and can be viewed on the BBC Seven Ages of Britain website.
Mellors is represented by Matt's Gallery
, London; Galerie Diana Stigter, Amsterdam; and Monitor Video & Contemporary Art, Rome
.
He lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, London & Yorkshire, UK.
In September 2011, Mellors selected a playlist of music that inspires him in his work.
"Music was my way into art school. I was involved in music from my very early teens - tape collage and improvising with a microphone and an analogue delay pedal with friends. We had no technical ability at all. It was great! The experience of improvising with sound has been a handy touchstone ever since in terms of approaching art making. His playlist includes Sonny Sharrock
, GZA
, Country Teasers
and The Notorious BIG.
Group
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Life and work
He studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
.
Mellors makes installations "packed with ad-hoc sculpture, psychedelic theatre and absurdist, satirical film". Mellors output includes installation, sculpture, film and video, music, performance, collage, painting, prints and critical writing.
His work in the show Art Now: The Way in Which it Landed, curated by Ryan Gander at Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
in 2008, was Thinking Rock Speaks, an empty speech bubble made of steel attached to a lump of alabaster. Jonathan Griffin in Frieze
Frieze (magazine)
-Publication:frieze is published eight times a year and is based in London. As well as essays, exhibition reviews and columns by forward-thinking writers, artists, critics and curators, the magazine includes music reviews, artist projects, interviews and sections on design and...
magazine said that Mellors "gets the last laugh ... Sometimes there really is just nothing to say."
In 2002 Mellors co-founded Junior Aspirin Records
Junior Aspirin Records
Junior Aspirin Records is a not for profit, artist-run independent record label founded in 2002 and located in London , England. It has released music by a number of artists in limited editions on divergent formats...
, a not-for-profit record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
releasing music by artists in limited editions. Mellors plays bass in the art-rock group Skill 7 Stamina 12 with Dan Fox, Ashley Marlowe and Maaike Schoorel
Maaike Schoorel
Maaike Schoorel is an artist based in London.Schoorel was born in Santpoort, The Netherlands. She makes paintings based on photographs, using traditional genres such as landscape, portrait and still-life...
, and has also released music with Toilet, God in Hackney, Mysterius Horse and under his own name.
In 2009 at the South London Gallery
South London Gallery
South London Gallery, founded 1891, often known by the acronym SLG, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London - exhibiting artists included Alfredo Jaar, Ryan Gander and Chris Burden...
, he put on a one night stage version of his film, The Time Surgeon. Jessica Lack in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the variety of styles and genres in his films, "skimming off a wide range of artistic references from prog rock to hit TV series The Prisoner, with which he creates brilliantly offbeat installations".
He was represented in the Tate Trienniel 2009, Altermodern, by a work Giantbum 2009, based on a story written by him about a party of medieval explorers who lose their way in the body of a giant. The work used film and animatronic heads. Adrian Searle
Adrian Searle
Adrian Searle is the chief art critic of The Guardian newspaper in Britain, and has been writing for the paper since 1996. Previously he was a painter. He curates art shows and also writes fiction.-Career:...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said:
- There is a lot of bad acting and declaiming, a succession of dreadful puns, gags about a time-travelling Doctor Poo and Father Shit-mass, and some mock golden showers. Imagine the 120 Days of Sodom redone as panto.
The work was also exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
, Amsterdam, and a variant of it at Centro Cultural Montehermoso in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
In summer 2009, Mellors was commissioned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to make a short "work of modern art" to introduce the final episode of the cultural history series The Seven Ages of Britain, presented by David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...
and directed by Jonty Claypole. The resultant work The Seven Ages of Britain Teaser featured Dimbleby voicing a silicon mask cast from his own face, alongside actors Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie is a British actress.She graduated from drama school in 2005 and lives in London. Her striking height, , motivated photographer Polly Borland to make her the subject of a noted series of photographs....
(as 'The Operator') and Johnny Vivash (as 'Kadmus'). The work was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on the 21 March 2010 and can be viewed on the BBC Seven Ages of Britain website.
Mellors is represented by Matt's Gallery
Matt's Gallery
Matt's Gallery is a contemporary art space situated on Copperfield Road in Bow, east London. Director, Robin Klassnik, opened the gallery in his studio in 1979 on Martello Street, before moving premises to Bow in 1993. The gallery is named after Klassnik’s dog, Matt E...
, London; Galerie Diana Stigter, Amsterdam; and Monitor Video & Contemporary Art, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
He lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, London & Yorkshire, UK.
In September 2011, Mellors selected a playlist of music that inspires him in his work.
"Music was my way into art school. I was involved in music from my very early teens - tape collage and improvising with a microphone and an analogue delay pedal with friends. We had no technical ability at all. It was great! The experience of improvising with sound has been a handy touchstone ever since in terms of approaching art making. His playlist includes Sonny Sharrock
Sonny Sharrock
Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
, GZA
GZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
, Country Teasers
Country Teasers
Country Teasers is a Scottish art punk band formed in 1993.Early Country Teasers albums were characterised by illiterate, scathingly satirical lyrics and discordant, repetitive sound – like William S...
and The Notorious BIG.
Exhibitions
Solo- 2010 Ourhouse, De Hallen, Haarlem
- 2009 Giantbum, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam
- 2009 Giantbum, Monterhermoso, Vitoria, Spain
- 2009 Giantbum, Lombard-Freid Projects, New York
- 2009 The Time Surgeon, South London Gallery
- 2006 Hateball, Alison Jacques, London
- 2005 Hateball, The Collective, Edinburgh
- 2004 Profondo Viola, Matt's Gallery, London
- 2001 Black Gold, Matt's Gallery, London
Group
- 2008 Art Now, Tate Britain, London
- Deep Screen, Stedelijk Museum CS, Amsterdam
- 2009 Contour 2009, Mechelen, Belgium
- 2009 AltermodernAltermodernAltermodern, a portmanteau word defined by Nicolas Bourriaud, is an attempt at contextualizing art made in today's global context as a reaction against standardisation and commercialism...
, Tate Triennial, Tate BritainTate BritainTate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, London
Music projects
- 1989 The New Sharp (with Simon JohnsSimon Johns-Clear Spot:In 1998, Johns had formed the short-lived band, Clear Spot, with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. They released a 7" vinyl single Moonman Bop on Duophonic Records in 1998.-Stereolab:...
) - 1990 - 1991 Autobutcher (with Simon Johns, Chris Barter, Ashley Marlowe and Grant Newman)
- 1991 - 1993 Corridor (with Chris Barter, Ashley Marlowe and Grant Newman)
- 1992 - 1999 Conemelt (with Ashley Marlowe and Grant Newman)
- 2002 Prince Lightning
- 2002 - present Junior Aspirin RecordsJunior Aspirin RecordsJunior Aspirin Records is a not for profit, artist-run independent record label founded in 2002 and located in London , England. It has released music by a number of artists in limited editions on divergent formats...
- 2002 - 2007 Skill 7 Stamina 12 (with Dan Fox, Ashley Marlowe and Maaike Schoorel)
- 2003 - present God in Hackney (with Andy Cooke)
- 2006 Mysterius Horse (with Dan Fox)
- 2008 - present Advanced Sportswear (with Dan Fox and Ashley Marlowe)