Elin Reboli Melberg (1976) was born in Stavanger, Norway where she still lives and works. She graduated with a Masters of Fine Art from the Royal College of Art, London in 2002. Elin Melberg works with installations, monumental sculptures and textile works.
Accumulation is central to Elin Melberg´s artwork, in which distinctive, time-consuming compositions are created from everyday materials. In her sculptures, installations and textile works, she weaves memories and impressions from her surroundings into her fragile and personal works of art. Physical dimensions are key to one´s appreciation of Elin Melberg´s pieces, playing an important role not only in terms of the gallery itself, but also in the onlooker´s perception of her artwork.
Over the past few years and moving forwards, Melberg has chosen to immerse herself increasingly into exploring textile works of art. The process is akin to her work with monumental sculptures and installations. Both are long, detailed processes involving embroidery, weaving and knitting, one stitch or thread at a time. Presence is paramount and the accompanying handcraft is significant. She seeks a vulnerable transparency in her textile works, rather than hiding away. Melberg´s works are not supposed to be seen as technically perfect. Whilst technical perfection is important to other artists and to their creations, it is conceptually misplaced in Melberg´s artwork. She will deliberately drop stitches, knit using four or five yarns at once, sew and knot and attempt to create a presence which is far from perfect, but which is beautiful whilst fragile and imperfect. This is art mimicking life itself.
Collections include Haugaland Museum for Haugesund Billedgalleri (2021), Stavanger Art Museum (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021), Stavanger University Hospital (2016), Oslo Municipality Art Collection (2016), Stavanger Concert Hall (2015), KORO (2011), Statoil Art Collection (2003, 2005, 2011) and Stavanger Municipality (2009, 2015).
Melberg has done several public commissions in Norway. The past years she has also made textile set designs for stage productions like Elle Sofe Saras « Vástádus eana - The Answer is Land» (2021) and Dybwikdans´ «MÅNEmåne» (2019) and «Bakom Stjernene» (2022).