The Corner Store Gallery, studio visit with Melanie Vugich, photograph by Madeline Young

Studio Visit and Interview with Melanie Vugich

There have been a few OMG moments in my career since I opened The Corner Store Gallery in 2014, and one of those moments was when Melanie Vugich (THE Melanie Vugich) contacted me about exhibiting here at The Corner Store Gallery! I’ve been a fan of Melanie’s work for years and I am so excited to be hosting her first ever solo exhibition in Australia Familiarity.

Melanie’s work is instantly recognisable from her distinct textural painting style. The work seems to vibrate with energy and life, you can imagine Melanie’s skilful hand moving across the board. Her subjects are quite personal and in-still a sense of comfort, joy and “familiarity”.

I visited Melanie and her sister Lisa at Mel’s home studio in Bronte recently to see the work in person and learn more about the process and inspiration behind these stunning works.

Familiarity is on display at The Corner Store Gallery from June 23 - Jul 3 2021. The catalogue is now live on our website with Pre-sales launching at 8pm Tuesday June 22nd via our website.

We’d love you to join us to celebrate the Opening Night of Familiarity on Wednesday June 23rd from 6pm, all welcome.

View the Exhibition Catalogue

Tell us a little about your background and where your art career began.

I grew up in the Outback NSW town of Broken Hill and started painting and drawing from a very young age. Being an artist was the only thing I dreamed of doing and those dreams led me to Italy in my early twenties. It was in Florence that everything fell into place. I met Susan Nevelson, a highly regarded artist and head fabric designer for the Ken Scott label, and she saw some of my work and decided to mentor me.

Susan generously shared her vast knowledge of painting and design with me, which allowed me to soon find work as a fabric designer. I created prints for a number of Italian fashion labels, including Etro, Enrico Coveri, Roberto Cavalli and Blumarine. I was working with amazingly talented people and had a lot of creative freedom, which was such a luxury.

In my spare time I painted and sold my work via group and solo exhibitions. Still life was my chosen genre, so I stuck with it and was finally able to spend a lot more time painting when my partner, son and I relocated back to Australia in 2009. My goal was always to paint full-time, which I am now thrilled to be doing.

Where do you find inspiration for your beautiful still lifes and interiors?

With my still life work, nature is always a great starting point – a bunch of flowers, a branch from a blossoming gum tree or beautiful light will serve as the foundation of a painting, then I’ll start to create a scene using my favourite everyday items. If you look through my Instagram feed, you’ll see the same items appearing over and over in different settings.

With interiors, I love painting rooms I have spent time with my friends and family in. I have photographed some of my favourite rooms from every angle and have literally painted them again and again. Maybe I’m attempting to recapture treasured moments!

The Corner Store Gallery, Melanie Vugich_9388.jpgsml.jpg — The Corner Store Gallery, studio visit with Melanie Vugich, photograph by Madeline Young

Where do you create? Tell us a little about your studio.

I have a small home studio. It’s on the second floor of a classic 1960s apartment block and is wrapped in glass, so I have lovely district views and the beautiful natural light is perfect for painting. I work at an easel and have a wall of shelves filled with all of my books and vases and the things I work with every day.

Can you describe your process to our readers? What are the most important elements of your work?

I devoted the best part of 30 years to experimenting and learning as much as I could about technique and composition, so these things come naturally to me now and I can focus purely on getting creative with colour and subject matter.

If I’m working with flowers that won’t last long, I do several set-ups at once and take lots of photos. I use oil on board, so draw up everything in pencil then use acrylic as the undercoat, which helps to build up texture. Good light, quality brushes and long stretches of painting time are my essential elements.

I don’t take a particularly intellectual approach to my work – I just have an inexplicable need to paint every day, so that’s what I do.

What's next for Melanie Vugich?

There’s no great master plan – I just want to keep painting and doing my own thing and collaborating whenever the right projects come my way.