Sky Octopus
Paintings by Melanie Mandl
September 10 -18, 2022
Opening reception Saturday, September 10th 5-8pm
In early 2020, someone was flying a black octopus kite in the local parks. Almost daily its stark and undulating shape hovered over the Cornfields near Chinatown and in Elysian Park above the empty tennis courts. This fluttering beacon in the sky signaled that another person was at the other end of the invisible string.
As a child growing up in Idaho, artist Melanie Mandl flew a similar kite in the hills of Boise. Her grandparents lived near San Francisco and bought it for her in Chinatown. Sometimes the string would run out, unattached to the core. She would have to run after in through the dust and sagebrush of the high desert. Somehow it always snagged on something and she could retrieve it, with great relief. She loved that kite.
If anyone reading this knows who the person was at the other end of that kite string, please let Melanie know. She has a painting for them.
Melanie Mandl is an American artist living and working in Los Angeles. She is the founder and owner of Keystone Art Space.