Biography
Melanie Rose (b. 1964, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland) is an artist whose practice relates primarily to drawing, especially of the natural environment. Melanie studied at Trent Polytechnic and Central Saint Martins, and has exhibited extensively, with work in public and private collections. Rose also has a history of collaboration working with institutions, filmmakers and fellow artists; it has been through collaborative projects that Rose has extended her practice, taking it in directions that have expanded her knowledge base and pushed the boundaries of her discipline. She is a member of LAND2, a national network of artist/researchers with an interest in place-oriented art. She has exhibited widely and has work in both private and public collections.
Her practice is predominantly drawing; the constant theme running through her work is the relationship between the human form and the natural environment. She is studied for a practice-led PhD in the School of Design at the University of Leeds. The focus of her research was the landscape set within the South Downs National Park, explored through drawing, painting, print-making, walking and the creation of a Digital-Art-Index. The focal point of her investigation was the relationship between the figure and the landscape working with traditional materials that are sympathetic to specific topographies including chalk-gesso, egg-tempera and oak-gall ink. She focussed on the ancient tracks that traverse the South Downs in England which relied on social geography as a way to explore and reflect through visual interpretations the historical and geographical narrative associated with these byways.