Hiram Melendez is a self-taught visual artist who resides in New York City. He has been drawing with a ballpoint pen (his primary choice of medium) since 1987, and had studied under artist Anthony Palumbo (1923-2008) for figure drawing between 1992 and 1993, as well as artist Anthony Pellettieri (Print Making) in 2005 at the Art Student League of New York. Hiram consistently works to perfect and broaden his artistry, and is enthusiastic on finding new ways of creative expression both within and outside of the realm of drawing.
As an artist, Hiram believes that art is the best way to reveal one’s emotions and thoughts. His artwork is like a visual diary, as he expresses his strong fascination with life, death, and the world in which we live. Such topics explored in his art include violence, the plight of women and misogyny, religion, and the complexities of his childhood. Hiram believes he was born in the wrong time period, and is constantly trying to understand his deep and immediate past through artistic exploration. He uses the exploration of warped senses of reality and confusion to create a kind of balance with understanding the events and experiences that have made him who he is today