MICHAEL ZAVISON
AND MELANIE ROLFES

Melanie Rolfes and Michael Zavison are a collaborative duo whose individual artistic trajectories intersected at the Atlanta Midtown Festival of the Arts in 2010. Describing an almost immediate
creative connection, Melanie and Michael realized that not only did their artistic interests line up, but that the work they each did individually could be stronger when paired together.

 

Michael’s immersive abstractions met Melanie’s color-infused European sensibilities. While she creates as a way to channel and direct energies and thoughts—making works that are both focal points as well as imaginary passages, he uses industrial materials to create archival works that
transform spaces. In many ways what they both do is take the fleeting moments of beauty created by time (like the patina on old plaster walls, or the accumulated rust of decades) make it stable, deliberate, and manageable...which is to say: theirs is a process of creation, not neglect

or decay.

To achieve long-lasting works that look as if time and nature have been at work, theirs is a process of marrying new technology to older knowledge and endless, inventive experimentation. When talking about how a new piece comes to life, they’re both quick to say that there is no set way, “one of us says: ‘hey... I have an idea,’” and the two are off and running. Delegating responsibilities and communication is the key to pulling off deceptively complex compositions whose success depends as
much on materials expertise and timing, as color and design theory. “...the work is complex, a lot of things come together in a very short time...when we put everything together, some of the chemical
reactions we are working with require more than one set of hands. So one of us takes the lead and the other acts as support—it’s like cooking.”

Melanie and Michael count Coca Cola, Elton John, and the Federal Reserve Atlanta among their custom clients. While in respected exhibitions and festivals across the country, they’ve won multiple
best in show awards, including an award of excellence from the Peruvian ambassador. Currently they are traveling to exhibit across the country, so the best way to keep up is to check their website
regularly.