ABOUT

Melinda Schawel is a North American/Australian artist based in Melbourne, known for her abstract compositions that explore the inherent qualities of paper as well as clay, metal and wood. Driven by a profound reverence for process and materials, her practice is a deeply personal and emotional response to natural phenomena and the inherent tension between control and chaos.

Schawel's work is characterized by labor-intensive, experimental techniques, including tearing, drilling, sanding, and perforating heavy-weight paper, often combined with ink, fluid acrylics, and graphite. This physical engagement with the medium creates textured, layered surfaces that evoke a visual ecology, hinting at organic forms, geological landscapes, or microscopic structures. While her works are not directly representational, they are inspired by the rhythms, textures, and cycles found in nature, from the ebb and flow of tides to the interplay of light and shadow.

Themes of vulnerability, resilience, and the human impact on the environment subtly infuse her pieces. She aims for a visual equilibrium, creating a mood of tranquility and wonder despite the brutality of her making process, inviting viewers to contemplate the invisible forces shaping our world.

As arts writer Elli Walsh describes: ‘With scalpel in hand, Schawel methodically tears the surface of heavy gauge paper, piece by piece, until a form emerges, taking its own organic path beyond the artist’s control. A lyricism inhabits this act of peeling layers and shedding surface; a dance between control and unpredictability..an engraving tool is utilised to drill into sections of the paper, which by contrast is more controlled and symmetrical, choreographing depth by casting shadows. Some painted forms recede in the pictorial space as others approach the surface, threatening to drift off the paper and dissipate into the atmosphere. These optical manoeuvres of energetic shapes and textures create the sense that the works are in flux, forever evolving.’

Schawel has exhibited widely in her adopted country of Australia with over 20 solos under her belt and internationally in Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore. She has been a finalist in a multitude of art prizes including most recently the Omnia Art Prize 2025, the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize 2024 and the WAMA Environmental Art Prize 2023. She has completed numerous art residencies from La Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro in Spain to the Art Vault in regional Victoria to the Franz Masereel Centre in Belgium. She was recently featured in Arts Hub, has been interviewed by the late ABC TV presenter Jill Singer as well as comedian/activist Mandy Nolan, and featured in various publications such as Artist Profile Magazine and the Canberra Times. Represented by a host of private/public collections including the National Gallery of Australia (ACT), City of Whitehorse (VIC), St Vincent’s Hospital (VIC) and Crown Towers Perth (WA), she has been commissioned for many projects in Australia including her first integrated public artwork for the City of Casey, Victoria in 2020. Abroad, she has been involved in numerous projects including most recently the Waldorf Astoria in NYC, Mori Group in Tokyo, and the Artelier Arts Consultancy in Bristol, UK.