Dawn Mellor

Dawn Mellor is known for her paintings of celebrities: the artist has painted Britney Spears, Helen Mirren, and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few. But, as writer Jessica Lack pointed out in a Guardian review, these works "do not speak of the mysticism and romance of stardom. Her celebrities are not quixotic figures, but the personification of our basest emotions. They are grotesque parodies: sallow, deformed and cruel." In "Sirens," Mellor's most recent solo show at Team Gallery, departed from this module. Each work portrayed a female cop, the titular "siren" referring both to the aquatic temptresses of Ancient Greek myths, and to the blare of police horns. 

Born in Manchester in 1970, Mellor received her Masters from London's Royal College of Art in 1992, when she was only twenty-two years. Since then, Mellor has has multiple solo shows at Team Gallery and has also exhibited internationally, including "Painting Evil" at Kunstverein, Hamburg (2016) and "What Happened to Helen?" at Focal Point Gallery, South Essex (2013). In 2011, her Madonna Molotov (2004) painting sold for about $13,000 at Christie's.