Nathan Meltz

I am a Lecturer in the Department of the Arts at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the founder and curator of the East Coast National Screenprint Biennial hosted in Upstate New York.

Part critique, part fascination, the art I create examines the infiltration of technology into every facet of our lives, from family and food to politics and war. Nightmarish industrial creations are set against images of grand mechanical constructions, an off-kilter vision of technology. In my visual vocabulary, the contemporary world of nanotechnology and genetic modification is retrofitted with analog mechanical parts. The Captains of Industry are sadistic gods.

Exploring this automated world through animation, printmaking, collage, and installation, I create narratives and relationships between mechanical humanoids and animals. These tales of love, violence, and circuit boards alert the viewer to the inevitable robot invasion, and prepare them to resist.

I received my Bachelors degree in art education from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, my Masters in art from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and an MFA in from the University at Albany.

My solo exhibitions include the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute’s 101 Gallery(NY), Southern Illinois University’s Vergette Gallery, and GRIDSPACE (NYC). Internationally, I have exhibited at the IN Graafika Festival, Pärnu, Estonia, the Uranium Film Festival at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and the Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design in Dundee, Scotland. My work has been featured in the publications Paper Politics, Sociological Images, Printeresting and the Mid America Print Council Journal.