'The work of Melissa Meyer (NA 2010) possesses a kind of “sprezzatura”—meaning that it takes a great deal of skill and technical bravado to make it look so easy. Not many artists can pull that off.
By most accounts, Meyer’s work falls squarely within the historical trajectory of Modernism and Abstract Expressionism. One would most likely compare her paintings to the lyrical abstractions of Mark Tobey (ANA 1972) and Bradley Walker Tomlin, and she herself acknowledges their influences, along with the bold gestural works of Lee Krasner. I might also add the later works of Brice Marden (ANA 1992, NA 1994).
But I think Meyer’s visual language is more sly and nuanced than her predecessors’, and most decidedly her own. Her singular contribution to the growing language of gestural abstraction comes from her longtime interest in collage, seamlessly building layer upon layer in her paintings as if she were creating on discreet sheets of glass. The results are remarkable for their luminosity, subtlety of depth, and complexity without ever appearing belabored."