Melega Museum showcases variety of artwork, styles
BROWNSVILLE – “Interpretations,” artwork by Pittsburgh artist Samuel Kolmen, is the latest exhibit offered at the Frank L. Melega Art Museum, located on the second floor of the Flatiron Building on Market Street, in Brownsville. “Samuel Kolmen has a unique vision. His style is abstract and non-objective. At the Melega Museum, we like to offer a variety of styles and philosophies, and Kolmen’s works exhibit this,” said Patrick Daugherty, curator at the Frank L. Melega Art Museum.
Daugherty, a lecturer at Penn State University’s Fayette Campus in Art history, American art, Art 1, and an artist and studio class, is one of the three co-founders of the Frank L. Melega Art Museum, which opened to the public in 1997.
“This all started when I put together an exhibit at Penn State Fayette Campus, the Coal, Coke and Art exhibit,” Daugherty said. “While I was organizing it, I met Frank L. Melega and Norma Ryan, the mayor of Brownsville. Norma mentioned to me that Mr. Melega had never had a one-man show in Brownsville.”
Melega’s family moved to Brownsville when he was a child, and he was a resident of West Brownsville. In his youth, Melega loved to draw and paint, and a nun once told him he was “destined to be an artist.”
She was right. When he was 21, Melega worked at a local sign shop in Brownsville. Later, he took over the business and relocated the business to his home.
From home, Melega maintained his entrepreneurial endeavors, as well as pursued his own passion in art.
In 1933, he began exhibiting his work in Pittsburgh. He became a member of Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and the Uniontown Art Club. Additionally, Melega instructed at the Washington Art Association in Washington. Melega accepted an invitation to exhibit work in the Carnegie International 1952.
Orville Eberly commissioned Melega to complete the mural “The Spirit of Service” for the Second National Bank in Uniontown in 1954. This mural is recognized as one of the largest murals in western Pennsylvania. In the mid-1970s, the mural was removed from the bank and was put on display in Freedom Hall in Uniontown, the current location of Smithfield Bank.
Melega produced artwork out of his Brownsville studio for more than six decades, however, he had never had a show in his hometown.
Melega was interested in the one-man show in Brownsville, and Daugherty arranged this. The event was a success.
With the popularity of the Melega show, Ryan, Daugherty and Frank R. Melega, Melega’s son, wanted to honor Melega with an art museum in his hometown.
The group applied for and received a grant from the Eberly Foundation, which laid the foundation for the museum. Tragically, Melega died before the opening of the museum.
“Mr. Melega was a prolific artist during his entire adult life and worked in many different styles,” Daughtery said. “The museum reflects that through the styles, mediums, sculptures, paintings and photography. We like to offer a wide range of artwork. It is a reflection of Mr. Melega’s own versatility.”
Daugherty believes Kolmen’s work reflects this versatility. He learned of Kolmen and his work more than two years ago at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and admired Kolmen for his originality.
“I’ve never seen anyone use color the way Kolmen does,” Daugherty said. “He is very dynamic and expressive. His work has great depth. I am so pleased to give Samuel Kolmen a venue for an audience to experience his work.”
Kolmen’s work will be on display at the Frank L. Melega Art Museum through Feb. 7. The museum is open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Other times are available by appointment.
Call 724-785-9331 for more information. There is no admission charge to the museum.