Melanie Sherman's work references exclusive and precious porcelain wares from 18th-century Europe as she seeks to capture the qualities for which porcelain has been known since its discovery thousands of years ago: whiteness, translucency, and resonance. She is attracted to the enameled and lustered surfaces of Baroque, Renaissance, and Rococo porcelain designs as well as elaborations on structural elements from these time periods.
Sherman was born in Germany and currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri. She has a BFA in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute. Her background is in graphic design, where she developed an eye for pattern and decoration. Sherman has been a resident at The Archie Bray Foundation, Anderson Ranch, Charlotte Street Foundation, as well as residencies in Kecskemét, Hungary, and Jingdezhen, China.