Luam Melake

Luam Melake reimagines the value that functional objects hold in our lives and the roles that can play in our relationships. Her dynamic practice includes both woven designs and furniture as she oscillates between material research, exploration of form, and the creation of interactive pieces that encourage social and emotional engagement.

Melake refers to the histories and methodologies of art, design, craft, architecture, and industrial manufacturing to create exquisitely crafted functional objects that hold the power to transform social interaction. To achieve this, Melake uses upholstery foam and shapes it into geometric forms that reflect negative spaces left by the body. Thin layers of an industrial urethane coating are poured onto the foam to create a durable skin-like surface that functions like an exoskeleton, reinforcing the soft structure. Translucent dyes are then used to create painterly effects and dimensional color that enhance and relate to the sculptural composition. The resulting pieces are highly practical furniture objects that also reference painting, sculpture and the structural logic of architecture.

Luam Melake received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley in Interdisciplinary Field Studies majoring in Architecture with a minor in Art History in 2008. She has been Artist-in-Residence at prominent institutions, including Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha (2019), Fondation Blachere in Apt, France (2019), and The Museum of Arts and Design in New York (2017-18, 2022), and was awarded the Female Design Council Grant in 2021. Melake is based in New York and is currently a research fellow at Parsons School of Design. Her work lives in the permanent collections of the Fondation Blachere, Apt, France and Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italy.