The Smoldering Glamour of Mel Odom
We visit the artist at home to learn about his life and legacy. From drawing for Playboy and Roald Dahl to his latest solo show.
ARTWORKS BY MEL ODOM
PORTRAITS BY DANIEL TRESE
INTERVIEW BY SILVIA PRADA
Mel Odom’s drawings smolder with glamour and fantasy, applying art deco’s graphic cool to portraits of devastating beauty and desire roused through mystery.
Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1950, the American artist became a commercial illustrator in the 1970s, his signature romantic and often homoerotic drawings gracing the covers of books and the pages of magazines.
He drew for Playboy and the beefcake pinup Blueboy, and some of his best-known works are the covers of early novels by Edmund White, considered by many, the godfather of gay American lit.
After Odom retired from the world of commercial illustration, he designed a collectible doll, Gene Marshall, inspired by Old Hollywood bombshells.
Now he’s having a third act of his career as a fine artist, staging several exhibitions since 2019. His latest, Blind Tongue, curated by Michael Bullock was on view at David Lewis Gallery this past fall. Fellow artist and glossy magazine addict Silvia Prada called Odom to learn more about his undying obsessions and formative years.
I’m calling you from the office. I wanted to come visit, but this week has been bonkers. How have you been? Oh, I’ve been busy. Things have been great lately, actually. It’s been kind of amazing.
Everybody’s obsessed with you [Laughs]. I know. How crazy is that? And you look beautiful, by the way.
Oh, thank you. I’m so happy that the boys asked me to chat with you. Me too. So far everything’s been good. On Sunday we did the photoshoot for this feature. I love Abi. The photographer [Daniel Trese] was wonderful. A really nice guy.
Did they come to your house for the shoot? Yeah. It was fun.
I wanted to know your first memory as a kid of creating something where you were conscious, “this is art and this is what I want to do.” Because you started super early. I have a birthday card from when I turned four years old.