For his second solo exhibition in Australia, Woody Mellor presents At Least it’s Warm, a pictorial ode to the enduring myth of Orpheus and his impossible journey through the underworld to retrieve his lost love, Eurydice. In this exhibition of new paintings, Mellor takes the Orphean tragedy as his subject, re-interpreting its central plot points through a kaleidoscope of personal and pop-cultural references.

Like countless before him, this myth has long been an important touchstone for Mellor and his work, appearing in various forms and serving to encapsulate various themes. For many, Orpheus embodies both the inherent power and limitations of art, or the enduring voice of the poet beyond their death. However, in this instance the myth also acts as an unexpected lens through which Mellor examines the recurring themes in his practice. Just like Orpheus’ ill-fated backward glance that at once confirmed his success and became his failure, Woody seems fated to return to the same subjects. 

“Like an actor speaking in a foreign accent, when it begins to slip, sometimes you need a particular phrase to keep you on track. Orpheus and Eurydice seems to be my key phrase—when ideas feel elusive, this myth offers a gentle nudge back into my lane. Whatever the analogy, Orpheus and Eurydice was the cure for my most recent bout of painters block. I needed to retrieve the inspiration that I had lost, so returning to the underworld seemed the only way forward. But hey, at least it’s warm.”

Woody Mellor

B. June 1990, Melbourne, Australia.

Education

2019 - 2020

Murdoch University, Grad Dip Ed (Tertiary & Workplace Education), Murdoch, Western Australia

2014 - 2016

Royal College of Art, MA (Painting). Battersea, London UK.

2009 - 2012

Curtin University of Technology, Bachelor of Arts (Art), with First Class Honours. Bentley, Western

Australia

Recent Exhibitions

2024

At Least it’s Warm solo exhibition, NAP Contemporary, Mildura, VIC

2023

Spring 1883 Art Fair for NAP Contemporary, Windsor Hotel, Melbourne VIC

2022

Don't Be a Stranger, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC

Fountains & Follies, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC

2020

If I Had the World to Give - with Lilly Kaiser, David and Andrew Wood. Cool Change Contemoprary,

Perth WA

2019

Fine Art Perspiration (performance), Cypher Billboard, Bounds Green, London.

2018

Orpheus Sat Gloomy in His Garden Shed (performance), Fieldworks Gallery, London

At least it’s Warm,FieldWorks Gallery,London.

It’s a Classic ‘Whodunnit’,TLH Cave,London.

Agape (performance/dinner),Studio RCA River-light, Battersea, London - collaboration with Bea Bonafini