{"id":102063,"date":"2026-03-10T12:09:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T19:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=102063"},"modified":"2026-03-12T20:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:14:26","slug":"dreams-and-memory-in-tshikambas-golden-worlds-at-the-orem-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/dreams-and-memory-in-tshikambas-golden-worlds-at-the-orem-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreams and Memory in Tshikamba\u2019s Golden Worlds at the Orem Library"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Melissa Tshikamba, “Lavender,” 2026<\/p><\/div>\n

Imagination sits at the center of creativity. It also fuels our dreams. Utah-based artist Melissa Tshikamba<\/a> explores both in her exhibition at the Orem Library Hall Gallery. With a BFA from BYU, Tshikamba\u2014a name that combines two female ancestral names from the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo\u2014has developed a visual language that blends realism, mythology, nature, the divine feminine, and her ancestral heritage to reflect the beauty of everyday life and the natural world. The work is both firmly entrenched in realistic depictions of people, flowers, and animals as well as floating in an almost ethereal beauty of dream-like settings that surround these figures and botanicals.<\/h4>\n

In \u201cWild Poppies,\u201d Tshikamba\u2019s mastery of gold leaf is apparent. The hyperrealistic flowers and delicate bees float against an abundance of gold leaf that creates a vibration reminiscent of the heat of the summer sun. It\u2019s almost challenging to see the fine detail of the flowers, much like when the sun bombards your eyes in the garden.<\/h4>\n

Similarly, \u201cBlack Stallion\u201d depicts a beautifully detailed black horse against this same heavy gold leaf background. The artist has managed to create a ground line with the gold leaf which does give the horse a firm footing. But that gold has a powerful effect on the eye, broken centrally by the horse and near the top by a silver-leafed moon. This work, like most of the 25+ pieces in the show, has an equally golden frame.<\/h4>\n

The frames complement the paintings well. Not just because of the gold, but because of their delicate sculptural qualities. This is especially true with the smaller works like \u201cHummingbird\u201d and \u201cLavender.” Many of these smaller paintings are also painted on glass, which accentuates their luminosity. The artist works in oil, which adds to the richness of the surfaces and the heightened detail she seeks.<\/h4>\n