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NZ born (Wellington) artist Sam Melser creates large and bold oil paintings on canvas. After having studied for a time at the Slade School of Art in London he moved to France where he lived and worked for over 15 years. He is a dual NZ and French citizen. Melser received a DNAP (French 3 year national diploma with the highest mark) at the Avignon art school before enrolling at University in Bordeaux where his research became more theoretical. He received a Masters in Fine art at the Universit' de Michel de Montaigne and then spent 2 years writing a PhD in Paris at the prestigious EHESS higher learning social science doctoral school. Two years ago, Melser moved to Berlin and exhibited his work in several galleries and art spaces including the Ratskeller Contemporary Art Center. After many years in Europe, he is back in New Zealand, living and working in Auckland. His work is a complex mix of onirism and abstract expressionism. Sometimes including collage and writing in his work, his work deals with questions of human identity from an anthropological perspective. He has worked as an assistant for artists such as Jeff Koons and Anselm Kiefer.