Melissa Meyer is a painter best known for her vibrant, abstract compositions. A third-generation abstract expressionist, Meyer creates painterly ribbons and tangles of brushstrokes that amass into loosely grid-based structures, often under-painted with warm pastel washes. In her mid-twenties, Meyer and fellow artist Miriam Schapiro penned an influential essay linking the history of collage to traditionally female hobbies like quilting and scrapbooking. However, unlike Schapiro, Meyer didn't join the Pattern and Decoration movement but instead went on to create lyrical all-over compositions in diluted oil paint, inspired by the translucent qualities of watercolor.

Meyer also painted two enormous murals for the Shiodome City Center in Tokyo, expanding her repertoire to include Photoshop as well as paint. She has exhibited in over forty solo shows and has also been included in group shows at the National Academy Museum and the Jewish Museum in New York. Facsimile editions of Meyer's sketchbooks were published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1997.