This Side of Paradise

Melissa Steinhauser is an abstract painter, who works out of her Westport, CT studio producing work in acrylic on paper and canvas. With a degree in journalism from New York University she has over 20 years experience in fashion, notably at Elle Magazine before finding her painterly side. Her striking canvases borrow some of the same elements that make for good fashion – put simply, shape and color. Steinhauser’s sense of color is informed by some of her favorite designers such as Missoni, Etro and Emilio Pucci and has become even more refined by her training at Silvermine School of Art, where she studies with Derek Leka, an artist known for his expertise in color theory and abstract expressionism. Proving that abstract art is much more than arbitrary colors and haphazard shapes, Steinhauser’s deeply affecting pieces harness coordinated colors and carefully conceived shapes that make some of her pieces vibrate with emotion.