Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez

Philadelphia, PA

On view at the Bellevue Arts Museum

Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez has been a professional glassworker for over 13 years, a path that has led her to artist residencies at Pilchuck Glass School, The Creative Glass Center of America, MASS MoCA, and STARworks Glass Lab. Her work has been shown internationally at several venues, most notably in Young Glass, a once-per-decade exhibition featuring rising international glass artists under 35. Domestically she recently exhibited at Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh and UrbanGlass in Brooklyn. Her sculptures are included in New Glass Review #33 and #38, publications of The Corning Museum of Glass. Ahmadizadeh Melendez is currently adjunct faculty at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, from which she received her BFA in Glass. She holds an MFA in Craft/Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.

say yes

The artwork will be a wall piece taking up about 4' x 4', centered at standard viewing height. The piece will feature a large cut-paper collage made with blue and neon pink risograph prints of a field of daisies. I have been hand-cutting each individual print into fringe. Superimposed on top of this collage of fringy, printed paper will be a white cursive neon sign that reads, “say yes.” This work explores the ritual of plucking petals off of daisies and asking, “Do they love me or love me not?” and the experience of trying to create faith through wish-making when unable to control one’s romantic feelings.