While a student at the Brooklyn Museum, he met Dorothy. They married two years later. In 1951 they moved to Syracuse, NY where they opened the Syracuse Art Workshop, teaching painting and sculpture. They also taught an art class for children in the summer at Syracuse University. They also exhibited at the Key Gallery in New York City.
In the 1963, they returned to NY City and founded an artists’ co-op, Granite Gallery, on East 57th Street. the Granite Art Association organized seminars, forums, and exhibitions. “The New Face in Art” Forum and Exhibitions took place at the Loeb Center at New York University. Participants included Louise Nevelson, Red Grooms, Norman Carton, and art writer Gordon Brown.
In 1965, after traveling extensively in Europe, the Tanners established a studio in Miami. Their interest in Plexiglas and its unique light transmitting quality engaged both Dorothy and Mel in experimentation that led to a major focus and dedication. The Tanners created Lumonics installations in Miami, San Diego, Bangor, and Fort Lauderdale.
Since Mel Tanner’s passing in 1993, his light sculptures have been exhibited in conjunction with Dorothy’s at the Coral Springs Museum of Art in Coral Springs, FL at “The Art of Healing” exhibition, ZONES Art Fair at the Edge Zones Art Center during Art Basel Week in Miami, FL; Vertigo Art Space in the Santa Fe Art District, Union Station, Denver International Airport, The Scarlet in Central City, CO, the Museum of Outdoor Arts, and the McNichols Building in the Denver Civic Center.
