Reinhard Melzer has lived with spasticity ever since birth, due to which his hands are almost completely disabled. Born on 8 September 1938 in Mark, he depends on a wheelchair to get around. At school, he learned to write using mouth and also practised mouth painting. He lived in nursing homes for many years. Painting became a hobby for him and an important part of life. “If I hadn’t had painting, I’d never have survived it all,” he says in an interview. In 1962, Reinhard Melzer was received into AMFPA and initially supported as a Scholarship Holder. In 1992, he was granted Full Membership. With the support of art teachers and professional artists, he further developed the painting skills which he had taught himself.
The move from the home to a small flat in Berlin at the end of the 1970s meant newly-won independence and enabled him to unfold his artistic talent more freely. Reinhard Melzer’s pictures reveal a huge joy in experimentation: he constantly depicts landscapes, people, still lifes, flowers in a wide variety of painting styles and painting techniques. His works range from realistic, detailed representations to abstract compositions, and have already been displayed in many solo and group exhibitions. His catalogue “Reinhard Melzer”, available from the MFK Publishing House, represents a cross-section of his creative works up to now.
