Le Spectacle [Lə Spɛktakl]

Mélanie Rocan

new paintings and a small survey of past work (2006-2019)
June 30 - August 12, 2023

Le Spectacle [Lə Spɛktakl] , 2023
installation view

Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present a survey exhibition (2006-2019) and new work by Mélanie Rocan. Here is a prepared text from Mélanie:

Le Spectacle consists of 26 acrylic paintings on wood, all created in 2023. I chose to paint these dramatic scenes on small surfaces in order to create an intimate space between the viewer and the work. I want to pull the viewer in and experience a world that is larger than life but rendered in a smaller, intimate scale.

The title of the show came to me because I wanted to paint images from circuses, carnivals and old films that capture a performance or display different feelings or emotions. Some pieces evoke courage, strength, vulnerability, insecurity, daring and confidence.

While this body of work evolved, the word "spectacle" became a metaphor for living for me—experiencing the ups and downs of our existence. The title written phonetically with an upside-down "e" also references a topsy turvy feeling. Using the title this way brought humour and lightness to some of the darker references in the works.

Some pieces evoke other artworks—for example, the old fun house painting titled ENTER made connections to The Gates of Hell, a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin. Other references that inspired my work include German expressionism, occult, gothic and ancient esoteric art, spirituality and romanticism.

My work often depicts the contrast of light and dark as a way of describing or finding the balance between the shadows of difficulty and ease, sensitivity and pleasure. -- Mélanie Rocan, May 2023.

MÉLANIE ROCAN (b. 1980, La Broquerie, MB) is a Franco-Manitoban artist. She has a BFA from the University of Manitoba (2003) and an MFA from the University of Concordia in Montreal (2008).

Rocan says, "During the making of the work there is a constant shifting between building and re-building within the framework of memory, allowing for new territory to be explored. I often let the painting linger between movement and stillness, and this is captured in the final product. I am also mindful of contradictions, which I find interesting — the dualities that are in constant flux, the oppositions and harmonies within the human condition. There exists a dichotomy between the inner emotional condition and the psychological unease with the environment depicted in the paintings."

Rocan is a three-time semi-finalist in the RBC Painting Competition. In 2012 – 2013 her work was the subject of a survey exhibition, Souvenir involuntaire, organized by the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. This exhibition toured to the Kenderdine Art Gallery at the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK) and Plug-In ICA (Winnipeg, MB). The bilingual catalogue includes an essay by Josée Drouin-Brisebois.

Rocan is the recipient of awards and grants from the Canada Council, Manitoba and Winnipeg Arts Council. Her work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including Crossing Natures, with Janet Morton, Christiane Pflug and Joyce Wieland, at Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound in 2016, My Winnipeg, at La Maison Rouge, in Paris and the Carte Blanche painting survey at MOCCA Toronto in 2008.

Collections include the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston, ON), Winnipeg Art Gallery, Doris McCarthy Gallery (Toronto), TD Bank (Toronto), RBC (Toronto) and the Manitoba Arts Council, and many private collections in Canada. Rocan has taught at the University of Manitoba

Le Spectacle [Lə Spɛktakl]

Mélanie Rocan

new paintings and a small survey of past work (2006-2019)June 30 - August 12, 2023

new paintings and a small survey of past work (2006-2019)
June 30 - August 12, 2023