Untitled

This etching is inspired by the artist’s own welded sculptures of found metal objects from the series Lynch Fragments. Begun in 1963, these sculptures combine materials associated with construction, while their titles and tortured compositions allude to the violent history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. These forms also suggest certain African symbols for creativity and virility, which Melvin Edward’s likely encountered during his many trips to Africa and his association with pan-Africanist movements. The translation of sculptural form into graphic image further abstracts and enlarges their meaning.

-Jaime Pagana, Curatorial Assistant, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Sept. 2016)