Brooklyn Museum Press Release
Melissa Joseph’s distinctive work takes over Brooklyn with an installation on the steps of the Brooklyn Museum’s outdoor plaza and a 50-by-50-foot mural on UOVO’s facility in Bushwick
WHAT:
The Brooklyn Museum and UOVO: Art, Fashion, Wine are proud to unveil two striking public installations by New York–based fiber artist Melissa Joseph, this year’s recipient of the prestigious UOVO Prize.
On the Brooklyn Museum’s Iris Cantor Plaza, Joseph presents Tender, a vibrant, site-specific installation that wraps the Museum’s steps in color, texture, and emotion—inviting passersby to experience her intricate practice up close. Simultaneously, in Bushwick, a monumental 50-by-50-foot mural transforms the facade of the UOVO facility at 105 Evergreen Avenue, expanding Joseph’s signature needle-felted portraits to a grand urban scale.
WHERE:
Brooklyn Museum’s Iris Cantor Plaza: 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
UOVO: Art, Fashion, Wine: 105 Evergreen Avenue, Brooklyn
WHO:
Based in Brooklyn and with family roots in India and Ireland, Melissa Joseph is known for her distinctive fiber-painting practice that considers themes of belonging and cultural inheritance. Her vivid works capture deceptively mundane moments, meditating on simple interactions between friends and loved ones.
In October 2024, a team of Brooklyn Museum curators selected Joseph for the UOVO Prize from among the artists featured in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, a major group show supported by UOVO. Her work Olive’s Hair Salon (2023) was included in the exhibition, and her work Getting Reuben’s tuition book (2023) was acquired by the Museum last year.
Melissa Joseph is available for interviews upon request.
WHY:
Both public installations are presented as part of the UOVO Prize, which recognizes the work of emerging Brooklyn-based artists. Referencing the geometric patterns of the famous floor of Italy’s Siena Cathedral, the installations present vignettes: vivid scenes of people embracing, laughing, eating, and resting, emphasizing themes of connection and community. By enlarging her wool-and-felt portraits through photographic reproductions, Joseph allows viewers to admire the detail of her labor-intensive practice.
WHEN:
The Brooklyn Museum installation is on view through November 2, 2025. The UOVO mural is on view through June 2026.
Melissa Joseph: Tender is organized by Kimberli Gant, Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, and Indira A. Abiskaroon, Curatorial Assistant, Modern and Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum.
The UOVO Prize is made possible by UOVO: Art, Fashion, Wine:
ABOUT UOVO: ART, FASHION, WINE
UOVO: Art, Fashion, Wine is the premier luxury storage and logistics provider for fine art, fashion, and wine. With 30 locations across 24 markets in the U.S., our expert team of industry professionals offers bespoke solutions to meet the specialized needs of any collection. UOVO offers comprehensive stewardship of both world-class commercial and personal collections at our purpose-designed, state-of-the-art facilities. From maintenance, preservation, archiving, and cataloging to shipping, storage, and installation, UOVO goes beyond storage to create a unique experience on par with elite hospitality, managed through one-to-one personal relationships and full digital optimization.
ABOUT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
For 200 years, the Brooklyn Museum has been recognized as a trailblazer. Through a vast array of exhibitions, public programs, and community-centered initiatives, it continues to broaden the narratives of art, uplift a multitude of voices, and center creative expression within important dialogues of the day. Housed in a landmark building in the heart of Brooklyn, the Museum is home to an astounding encyclopedic collection of more than 140,000 objects representing cultures worldwide and over 6,000 years of history—from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to significant American works, to groundbreaking installations presented in the only feminist art center of its kind. As one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country, the Brooklyn Museum remains committed to innovation, creating compelling experiences for its communities and celebrating the power of art to inspire awe, conversation, and joy.
ABOUT MELISSA JOSEPH
Melissa Joseph is a New York–based artist. Her work considers themes of memory, family history, and the politics of how we occupy spaces. She intentionally alludes to the labors of women as well as experiences as a second-generation American and the unique juxtapositions of diasporic life. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum, Delaware Contemporary, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA Arlington, ICA San Francisco, and List Gallery at Swarthmore College. Joseph has been featured in Hyperallergic, Artforum, Artnet, ARTnews, New American Paintings, WNYC, Le Monde, Vogue, CNN, Whitewall, and Family Style. She has participated in residencies including Artpace San Antonio, Dieu Donné Workspace Residency, Textile Arts Center, BRIC, Fountainhead, Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, Museum of Arts and Design, and Greenwich House Pottery. She is a regular contributor to BOMB magazine.
Sponsored
Related posts: