Attending To Light

Attending To Light is a residency body of work created by Melissa Lea during a four-month Artist In Residency program at The Art Center in Dover, New Hampshire, that included studio space generously sponsored by Market Square Jewelers, Dover NH.

The series explores light as something interior ~ a presence that emerges through color, gesture, and layered surfaces rather than through traditional light and shadow. Throughout the body of work, deep hues anchor the compositions while luminous passages of color expand outward, creating a quiet sense of illumination.

During the residency, Melissa Lea completed 27 formal paintings along with a series of studies that informed the larger works. Non-representational abstractions, companion bouquet paintings, and 2 culminating large-scale works unfold together as a cohesive exploration of light, intuition, and discovery.

Painted tissue paper collage, acrylic layers, and subtle pearl and copper infused passages create shifting surfaces that respond to light as the viewer moves. These works invite a pause ~ a sense of space where the viewer can be present, seek and discover.

Together, the paintings of Attending To Light reflect a disciplined practice of listening, trust, and creative freedom, that present a body of work grounded in illumination.