Mel Hunt

Mel completed his Master's in Education in Art at the University of Victoria in 2002. He teaches art locally. Inspiring and releasing creative potential is a major goal. He feels stimulated and enriched by his travels in Europe. For the last ten years he has been delving into the special magic that goes with re-creating the human figure. He enjoys the challenge of representing the tactile nature of the body on two-dimensional surfaces and uses conte, charcoal, and pastels, as well as watercolours, acrylics and oils. He has extended this interest into three-dimensional mobiles and marble, alabaster and soapstone sculpture, as well as hand formed and wheel-thrown pottery.

Exhibitions include: Okanagan University College Fine Arts Building Art Gallery: Sept. 23-27, 2002; A. Wilfred Johns Gallery at the University of Victoria: October 15, 2002; "Under Where?" Rotary Centre for the Arts, March 14 to April 3, 2004 (juried exhibition); Art Walk, September, 2004; Art Walk, September, 2005; Kelowna Art Gallery, January and February, 2006; Sculptures in Progress Gallery, ongoing from January, 2006.

Artist's Statement

We see and represent the surface; we intuit what personality and feelings lie deeper. We can sometimes capture character on paper. The human figure and face is an engima. Meaning is hidden by poses, attitudes, games, lack of time or attention. We get brief glimpses of what may normally be hidden.

We see into what may or may not be present. It is my goal to explore and express this engima of the human in my artwork.

People are all about relationships: with themselves, the world around them and with others. And we can be defined by our feelings for others as much as, or even more than, by what we do. Relationships have many dimensions. We have brief relationships with sales people; longer and somewhat deeper relationships with those at our workplace; intense relationships and hopefully long-lasting relationships with those we love. We move closer and we move apart. We change within relationships.

Representing people's faces, their poses, and their relatinships for what they reveal about them, as well as understanding what this quest reveals about me, in my artistic challenge.