About the Artist: Mel Chin was born in Houston, Texas and is known for the broad range of approaches in his art, including works that require multi-disciplinary, collaborative teamwork and even works that enlist science as a component to developing complex ideas.  He created Revival Field (1989-ongoing), that pioneered the field of "green remediation," the use of plants to remove toxic, heavy metals from the soil. From 1995-1998 he formed the collective the GALA Committee that produced In the Name of the Place a public art project conducted on American prime-time television. Chin is one of the artists featured in the first year of the PBS Series Art of the 21st Century. His  proposal for a New World Trade Center was part of the American representation at the 2002 Venice Biennale of Architecture. His ongoing Fundred Project addresses childhood lead-poisoning through art making.  This past summer he filled NYC's Times Square with a massive sculpture Wake on the ground, and an AR (Augmented Reality) project, Unmoored,  in the air. He created an experiential portal into a past maritime industry and a future of rising waters. All Over the Place, a 40-year survey exhibition at the Queens Museum, was named by Hyperallergic as the best NYC exhibition of 2018.

With numerous awards and grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Art Matters, Creative Capital, and the Penny McCall, Pollock/Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Rockefeller and Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundations, Chin has created many commissions, public art installations and one-person exhibitions around the world.  

Chin has been awarded four Honorary Doctorates from RISD, Providence, Rhode Island MICA, Baltimore, MD, Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT and The Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH.