Unauthorized Collaboration
Unauthorized Collaborations
Mel Chin with Unknown Artists
2012 – ongoing
A series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment
These collages use formal portrait paintings discarded by their previous owners and found by Chin on eBay or in antique stores. Chin alters and reconfigures the original artist’s compositions to create surreal amalgams which contain subtle commentaries on class distinction, spousal abuse, sexual desire, and psychological disposition. As Chin says, these paintings have “lost their original family, been surgically altered, and brought into a new family of contemporary art.”
Unauthorized Collaboration: Compleat Composure
2013
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment.
43 ½ x 33 ¼ inches (framed)
With the world collapsing around her, she keeps it all under her thumb.
Unauthorized Collaboration: Dominance and Affection
2012
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment.
44 1/2 x 37 ½ x 4 inches each (framed)
Two 19th century portraits, with hands transposed, tell another story.
Unauthorized Collaboration: Newton: Lawmaker
2018
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment.
35 x 30 inches (framed)
A portrait of Sir Isaac Newton illustrates the laws of optics, gravity, and the third law of motion.
Unauthorized Collaboration: She’s Beyond Him
2018
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment. 37 x 32 ½ inches (framed)
A pair of portraits are combined to suggest the psychological drama between a couple.
Unauthorized Collaboration: The Other a.k.a Bad Romance
2013
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment.
2 works 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches each (framed)
Three paintings are combined to suggest a romantic narrative.
Unauthorized Collaboration: The Remorseful Physician
2012
One of a series of altered found paintings.
oil on canvas, various support materials, PVA, wood, pigment.
30 ½ x 24 ½ inches (framed)
A figure folds down, out of the picture plane, and prompts a new narrative.
