Smack Mellon is a mission-based institution whose goal is to nurture and support emerging, under-recognized mid-career and women artists in the creation and exhibition of new work. The organization honors this mission by focusing support on NYC-based artists who have traditionally faced barriers to institutional and commercial opportunities. Smack Mellon is driven by their values of artistic exploration, experimentation, and risk-taking. With 6000 square feet of gallery space, it provides exhibition opportunities, studio space for 12 resident artists, and access to equipment and extensive technical assistance for the realization of ambitious projects. Smack Mellon is a platform where under-represented artists can create, explore and exhibit their creative ideas outside the concerns of the commercial art world, offering many artists the exposure and recognition they deserve.
Smack Mellon
Installation view, Jessica Segall, Human Energy, 2023. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
Installation view, 10 Billion Barrels, 2023. Curated by Rachel Vera Steinberg and Zanete Liekite in collaboration with Jessica Segall. Featuring artists dean erdmann, fields harrington, Rebecca Shapass. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
Installation view, Anne Wu, There Is No Far and No Near, 2023-24. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
Installation view, Frank WANG Yefeng, The House of the Solitary, 2023-24. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
Installation view, Mo Kong, Swift Island Chain, 2024. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
Installation view, Sunny Leerasanthanah, This is as far as I can take you, 2024. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard
Workloop, a performance activation of Mo Kong, Swift Island Chain by Fiel Guhit and Tianyi Sun, 2024. Courtesy of the Artists. Photos by Xianfan Zhu.
2023-24 Studio Artists Gara Lonning, Itzel Basualdo, Kyong eun Kang, Madjeen Issac, mujero, and Yuchen Chang. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photo by Etienne Frossard.
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“Our grantees range from small arts organizations with one staff member to major museums, yet they all provide essential resources for artists as well as innovative platforms for critical cultural dialogue. Creative risk-taking is at the heart of this country’s most meaningful social, political, and cultural developments, therefore we are proud to stand behind artist-centered organizations that support experimental practice.”
Joel Wachs, President