About the Studio
Austin-based artist Melissa Borrell creates kinetic, architectural sculptures and immersive environments that surprise and delight while striving to inspire participants to see the world in a new way. Using light, shadow and movement, she creates artwork and spaces that encourage viewers slow down, wonder and smile. Fascinated by math, geometry, nature, technology and architectural forms, Melissa’s work is sophisticated yet playful. With an engineering mind and a delicate aesthetic, Melissa combines materials and shapes in a unique way to create environments that illuminate the things that she finds awe-inspiring.
A native Texan, Melissa grew up in Houston and has lived in many cities around the globe. She studied French and studio art in Boston and Paris and worked as a studio artist in San Francisco for several years before moving to Providence for graduate school. She received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 and moved back to Texas in 2006. She has created several immersive installations that delight audiences of all ages. She was commissioned by the City of Austin to create GloWave in 2014 and SkyLines in 2015. Art Alliance Austin commissioned ShadowDreams for the Downtown Holiday Stroll in 2014. Prismatic Installation was created for an exhibition at Lawndale Art Center in Houston and also exhibited at Texas State University galleries. She is a member of the VisonGland Collective for which she created KineticStars and KaleidoscopiCave in 2017. Melissa has been an artist in residence at Sculpture Space in Utica,NY, Vermont Studio Center, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and Platteforum in Denver.
Melissa has been making, crafting and innovating for as long as she can remember. When she's not in her studio, you might find her cooling off in a swimming hole, rolling out a pie crust in the kitchen, or gazing up at the trees in the park dreaming up her next creation.