ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Header: Ed Mell, Untitled (Painting 12), no date (detail). Oil on linen. © Edmund Paul Mell Jr Trust
Ed Mell, Opening Cactus Bud, 1990. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of The Stéphane Janssen Art Foundation. © Edmund Paul Mell Jr Trust
Born in Phoenix, Ed Mell was engaged in Arizona’s arts community for more than 50 years, establishing his studio blocks away from Phoenix Art Museum. He became known for his use of vibrant color and angular compositions depicting monumental cloud formations, geologic strata, and desert life of the Colorado Plateau and Sonoran Desert.
At the time of his death in 2024, Mell left behind a studio filled with small-scale paintings and works on paper. Ed Mell: In the Studio presents for the first time a selection of oil studies and works on paper made from 1974 through 2023 that have never been on view to the public, offering unprecedented insight into Mell’s process and his final paintings.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
The inaugural installation of the James K. Ballinger Wing, an initiative honoring the historic collections of Phoenix Art Museum and the visionary leadership of Director Emeritus James K. Ballinger, is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible by generous gifts from the Virginia M. Ullman Foundation, the Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation, and Cathie Lemon. Additional support provided by Men’s Arts Council, Margaret T Morris Foundation, Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation, and Harry and Rose Papp.
Ed Mell: In the Studio in the Woodyard Gallery is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and curated by Olga Viso, the Selig Family Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with support from the Edmund P. Mell Jr. Trust. It is presented by the Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation.
All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.
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Featuring more than 20,000 objects, the collection spans the globe, bringing the world to our city, and our city to the world.
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