"Mo' Explorations"

One constant in these pieces that is a strong theme throughout much of Melanie Prapopoulos's work is a dreamy abstraction. Like dreams, there are strong feelings and energy that appear to lack logical organization. But as Prapopoulos is clearly aware, dreams, emotion, and feeling are not in anyway based in the confines of logic. This is not to say that what you see in her work is confused or unclear. On the contrary, there is something quite focused and instinctive about their expression. They conjure up recognizable moods and feelings in ways that are hard to verbally express yet are intuitively communicative.

A major element present in this collection of abstracts is visual distortion. By this, I refer to a single color web appearing to cover harmonious color pools below. This is evident in pieces like "[P]romises [K]ept," and "Mo' Red - Take Some Time To Think About It," "Mo' Blue - In The Mix." These distortions act as an intrusion on the world within the paintings, as a distraction to the beauty below. You could interpret this in many ways. Are we viewing a dream world disrupted by the waking world? Is emotional purity being tainted by soured human interaction? Is the world getting too crazy? I don't know, but it's not the specifics on who, what, when, and where because whatever the case, the feeling is the same. Specific feelings can be triggered by different circumstances and as Prapopoulos illustrates, similarly depicted visual foreground distortion and distraction can arise in different circumstances as depicted in the varying background color abstractions.

But like life, this series of paintings flows from distraction to focus. The times of focus feel tranquil and centered like "Gold Abstract - Peace on Kavalloti Street" where the distorted counterparts create a visual tension as in "Mo' Red - Take Some Time To Think About It." The title of the latter could not suggest this tension more. Prapopoulos is interested in the way the mind works and in this case, she explores the clash between sense, logic, emotion, and confusion, visually illustrating the disorder and conflict that goes on inside.

With her Gold Abstracts she does indeed pursue the less volatile side of the emotional ebb and flow. There is peace and meditative simplicity to these paintings. The gold color palette indicates warmth, beauty, and value. These qualities hold positive aesthetic and for Prapopoulos, emotional value. These are the times of rest and of healing. They are the times that enable one to endure and continue to experience what is to come. The titles reflect this in between time. "Peace on Kavalloti Street," "Seeking What Is Hidden," and "Waiting," all suggest the center in the pendulum swing of feeling. In these three pieces there is tranquility as tones and colors lurk below reminding of the exploration that has passed and the emotional voyage to come.

"Explorations 7" suggests a journey in an unknown space. The swirls of color remind of the ether in outer space. In the context of this series, this exploration draws connection between a journey through the mind and soul with an extra-terrestrial mission. This comparison holds many logical connections. Again, the laws that govern the reality of humans are suspended in the emotional realm and in places not of this world. There is a loss of gravity or grounded-ness in emotional and space exploration. There is constant unknown and a thirst for discovery.

"Explorations 8" comes as the last piece in this collection and sequentially following not only the other "Explorations" piece but the series in total, we are left to believe that the journey is not over. The tone and color scheme of "Explorations 8" is hopeful and ambivalent but hardly an answer. One journey leads into another and the process of being human and experiencing life never ends, it only leads to new chapters. Prapopoulos knows that. She wants to share that with you. She utilizes paint as the words to engage your eyes in discussion.

-Chris Brunelle