Submitted By Andrew Edlin Gallery

NEW YORK CITY — We are saddened to share the news that visionary artist Melvin Way passed away on the morning of February 4. Beloved by countless art aficionados, his work occupies the uncharted border between art and science. Born in South Carolina, Way came to New York City in the 1970s to attend a technical school. He played bass in local bands and recorded a solo album with Encounter Records, which folded before the album could be released. Soon after, Way was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and following a string of unsuccessful relationships, became homeless.

By 1989, Way was residing in the shelter run by Hospital Audiences International, a nonprofit organization offering art workshops to people with disabilities. There, artist Andrew Castrucci, a volunteer workshop leader at the time, encouraged Way to make art and served as his advocate during subsequent years. Way soon began to produce small, exquisite ballpoint-pen and ink drawings on found paper — rich hybrids of scrawled text, mathematical equations, astronomical shorthand, chemical formulae and alchemical punning — drawing viewers into exquisite mysteries that may never be solved.

We are proud of our association with Melvin’s singular art. Our third solo exhibition had been planned for 2024, following up on “Recent Work and Drawings from H.A.I.” (2021), and “The Cocaine Files Dossier” (2018). Way’s work is included in many private and public collections, including the American Folk Art Museum, New York; the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne. Group exhibitions include among many others the American Folk Art Museum; The Hayward Gallery, London; la maison rouge, Paris; and international art fairs, including the Outsider Art Fair and Art Basel Miami Beach. In 2016, Way earned the Wyn Newhouse Award that recognizes excellence in the achievements of artists with disabilities.

R.I.P.