Alexander Melamid

Alexander Melamid (born 1945) is a Russian painter and performance artist who emigrated to New York City from the Soviet Union in 1977 with Vitaly Komar.^[1] He was born in Moscow and attended the Stroganov Art Institute, where he collaborated with Komar in the Russian SOTS ART movement (a parallel to the Western movement of Pop Art). Known as a cynical Social Realist, Melamid began collaborating with Komar in the late 1960s, until 2003 when the two artists decided to go their separate ways. Around this time, Melamid's first-born son, Dan, introduced him to the world of hip-hop, which included his clients and close friends Whoo Kid and 50 Cent. Melamid was intrigued by hip-hop society because of its rich history and world appeal, and began to paint the hip-hop portraits that have become his first solo exhibition since splitting with Komar, on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (Michigan, USA).

References

1. ^ Bayonne (The New Yorker), April 4, 1989

• "HOLY HIP-HOP!" Museum of Contemporary Art. 20 Aug. 2008
• "Alexander Melamid." Askart.com. 2007-2008. 20 Aug. 2008

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Name	Melamid, Alexander
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Date of birth	1945
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