The lottery has repeatedly appeared in Brown’s art in recent years due to her interest in exploring how chance and randomness impact an object’s value. The lottery is the ultimate game of chance, determining the winner by a random number generator machine, and for most people, the lottery is the only event that could possibly materially change their lives. Since 2009, Brown has given a series of humorous performances called “How to Win the Lottery,” in which her character conducts workshops to generate lottery numbers collaboratively with audience members. Brown has also created large, visually-striking collages using discarded scratch-off lottery tickets from different games underscoring the dramatic and public nature of the changes in value of these tickets. The legal value of lottery tickets initially has a purchase value, which changes after the winner is determined and even losing tickets acquire a legal “tax value.” When Brown incorporates these discarded tickets into her art, their value changes again as part of a work of fine art. These value fluctuations demonstrate the way many objects change in value according to various factors that appear quite random, including art objects whose prices go up or down depending on the economy, the artist’s career development or market perceptions.

Melissa Brown received her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale (1999) and her BFA in Printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design (1996). She also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2000. She has exhibited in solo exhibitions at CANADA Gallery, NYC (2009), Kenny Schacter ROVE Projects, London (2004) and Bellwether Gallery, NYC (2003) as well as in countless group shows. She is a tenured studio art professor at Lehman College, CUNY.


EDUCATION

1996 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, BFA Printmaking
1999 Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, MFA Painting and Printmaking
2000 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2011 Dotto Lotto, CRLab at Winkleman Gallery, curated by Julie Chae, New York, New York
2009 Melissa Brown, Paper Fortune, Canada, New York City
2004 Kenny Schachter, Rove Projects, London, England
2003 Bellwether Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2011
NADA Hudson, Print Labyrinth, Collaboration with Rob Swainston, Basillica Hudson, Hudson, New York
In Between the Sheets, Curated by Irena Jurek, Workspace Harlem, New York, New York
Summer Salt, Curated by Ingrid Dinter, the Proposition, New York, New York
Gumption, ZiehierSmith, New York, New York
Paper A-Z, Sue Scott, New York, New York
Dadareah, Canada, New York, New York

2010
Nada Art Fair, Bas Fischer Invitational, Miami, Florida
Dadareaha, OWWOW, Miami Florida
Mutant Pop and The Living Image, Curated by Dearraindrop, Galleri Loyal, Malmo, Sweden

2009
Melissa Brown and Mat Brinkman, M + B Gallery, Los Angeles, California, curated by Picturebox Inc.
Wild Feature, Curated by Brian Belott, Zurcher Studio, New York, New York
$HIT = MONEY = LOVE = ART, curated by Paul Nudd, Chicago Version Fest

2008
LOTTO 6/49, The Other Gallery, The Banff Center, Banff, Canada
Badlands, curated by Denise Markonish, Mass MOCA, North Adams, Massachusetts

2007
In Full Cry, New Image Art, Los Angeles, California, Curated by Taylor McKimens and Matt Leines
Rearview, Freight + Volume, New York, New York, Curated by Eric Shiner
Performa Bieniel, Time Booth, the journal Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
New Mutants, Canada, New York, New York Curated by Dan Nadel
Permutations, New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York

2006
Chop Logic, Bellwether Gallery, New York, New York Searching For Love and Fire, David Castillo, curated by Brendan Cass, Miami Florida
Interstate, High Dessert Test Sites and Socrates Sculpture Park, Joshua Tree, New Mexico and New York, New York

2005
Visitors from the East, Billy Shire Fine Art, Culver City, California, curated by Alix Sloan and Katherine Chapin
In Deep Water, Dinter Fine Art, New York, New York
The Most Splended Apocalypse, P.P.O.W., New York, New York, curated by Jason Murison
Epic, Bellwether Gallery, New York, New York
New York’s Finest, Canada Gallery, New York, New York, curated by Wallace Whitney and Brendan Cass

2004
Two Person Exhibition, Mixture Fine Art, Houston, Texas
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? curated by Katherine Bernhardt, Champion Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
Hello Chelsea, Bellwether Gallery, New York, New York
Rowdy Remix, ATM Gallery, New York, New York
Beat The Reaper!, Curated by Joe Bradley, Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Baby You Can’t Drive My Car, Curated by Kenny Schachter, Cooper Classics, New York, NY

2003
Terrarium, Curated by Carl Eckford, Bronx River Art Center, Bronx, New York
Escape From New York, Curated by Jason Murison, New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts, Summit, New Jersey
Art Band, Curated by Kenny Schachter, Capitale, New York, New York

2002
Black Out, Space 1026, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2001
Looking For Mr. Fluxus, Curated by Grady Turner, Art In General, New York, NY York

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2010 The Craft, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, New York
2006 Action Adventure, With Michael Williams and Josh Klein, Canada, New York

PERFORMANCES

2009
“How to Win the Lottery” Nuit Blanche, Toronto, Canada

2008
“The Tabloid Deck” Nada Art Fair, Miami, Florida
“How To Predict the Future” Lisa Cooley, New York, New York
“How To Win Mega Millions using the Brown Wheel” Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, California, Part of the exhibition, Hey You Never Know, Annie Shaw
“Card Counting” Part of Milk the Weasel, Pull the Rug, Sculpture Center, Long Island City, New York
“How To Win the Lottery” Artist Space Blue Room, New York, New York

2007
“Time Booth” Photo booth Event, Canada, New York, New York
Pop Rally with Paper Rad, Corey Archangle and Slow Jams Band, Modern Museum of Art, New York, New York
Nada Art Fair “Mr. Ravestick’s Message” Sagamore Hotel, Miami, Florida
WPS1 Radio Interview with the Slow Jams Band, Miami, Florida
Frisbee Art Fair “Half Hour of Power” Performance at the Cavalier Hotel, Miami Florida
Earth Thunder Festival Music Performance Festival,
Turtle Island Indian Reservation, Ontario, Canada

2007-2005
Collaborative Performances with Slow Jams Band

2006
Contemporary Arts Center, Juried Exhibition, Curated by Mark Dion, North Adams, Massachusetts
The Muster, a civil war encampment curated by Allison Smith and Public Art Fund, Governor’s Island, New York, New York
Deitch Projects, Tedious Limbs, audio visual event curated by Devin Flynn New York, New York
Anthology Film Archive, April Fools, audio visual event curated by Devin Flynn, New York, NY

AWARDS AND HONORS

2011 PSC CUNY Research Grant
2010 Islip Museum, In Practice Exhibition
2008 Banff Center Thematic Residency and Fellowship
2008 Tenured Assistant Professor at Lehman College, CUNY
2008 Shuster Award, City Universities of New York
2008 Islip Art Museum Carriage House Residency
2007 PSC CUNY Research Grant
2005 Nominated Tiffany Foundation Grant
2004 PSC CUNY Research Grant
2003 Mazur Award for Faculty, Brandeis University
2002 Project Honorarium, Art in General, New York
1999 Project Grant, Yale University Digital Media Center
1998 Residency Fellowship, Vermont Studio School

CATALOGS

Mutant Pop and the Living Image, Loyal Books 2010
Badlands, Mass Moca Catalog MIT Press, 2008
Performa 07, Biennial Catalog, 2008
Cabinet Magazine Stamp Book, 2008
5 Artist Shows :Catalog for inaugural show at Rove London. 13 October – 7 November 2004
Escape From New York: New Work from the Outer Boroughs
Looking for Mr. Fluxus In the Footsteps of George Maciunas/ Fluxus Genetics, Published by Art In General

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Studio Visit:Melissa Brown”
Beautiful Decay / Huffington Post, March 14, 2011
Author: Bill Donovan

“Museum and Gallery Listings: Wild Feature”
New York Times, July 23, 2009
Author: Roberta Smith

“Melissa Brown, Paper Fortune”
Time Out New York, June 25-July 1 2009
Author: Michael Wilson

“Studio Visit: Melissa Brown”
Time Out New York, October 9, 2008
Author: T.J. Carlin

“Toxic Slurry and Pond Scum”
After Image, Vol 36, No.2
Author: Alisia G. Chase

“Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape”
Artforum.com, September 2008
Author: Jeffery Kastner

“the Journal” Time Booth, Interview with Melissa Brown, Spring 2008

“From California to the New York Island”
Artforum, May 2006
Author: Michael Ned Holte

“Introducing The Slow Jams Band”
NYFA interactive, June 15-July 1, 2005
www.nyfa.org/current, Author: Corey D’ Augustine

“Voice Picks”
Village Voice, April 6-12, 2005
Author: Kim Levin

“Hello Chelsea”
Gay City News, June 10, 2004
Author: Frank Holliday

“Rowdy Remix” Critics Pics
Artforum.com, May 2004

“Art in Review”
New York Times, March 7, 200
Author: Roberta Smith

“Working Proof” Art on Paper, May 2002
Author: Faye Hirsh

"Looking For Mr. Fluxus"
Art Forum.com October, 2001
Author: Sophie Fels

"Towering Billboard, a Calculated Artistic Prank"
New Haven Register
December 8, 1999
Author: Edward Crowder