'Melissa Cormier‘s intricate graphite drawings inspired by organic motifs and textures create surrealist compositions that intentionally reference the body. Cormier explores different textures from natural specimens: both flora and fauna. Rendered with fine precision and detail, her graphite drawings materialize on the page like a lucid dream' -Lonsdale Gallery
HELLO
By taking a close look at the natural world, it quickly became the foundation of my inspiration. From the terrestrial radius of the earth to the never-ending vistas of the cosmic realm, my fascination and admiration of these spaces are the textures that dwell within them.
Working mainly in the style of abstraction, I combine fluid gestures using mainly graphite, watercolor and ink (and recently digital tools) then fuse representational patterns into the overall composition.
I completed my BFA in Printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto, On Canada in 2012 and currently operate out of my studio in Toronto.
When I am not in the studio, I am outside rummaging for new textures to draw.
For Artist Statement and CV, see below
A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
Pareidolia (/pærɪˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH- lee-ə) is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists. The attempt with my work is to evoke a personal narrative where the viewer discovers a represented form through abstract imagery with textures of the familiar.
Light and the Absence of It is an ongoing body of work that depicts surreal imagery through gradients of light or color to materialize textures. A two-dimensional choreography transpires between light, dark and detail to create shapes that resemble a moment, memory or thing that the viewer has experienced or witnessed.
Creating a visual bond to subconsciously initiate pareidolia, by using textures and shapes that span from known terrestrial plains to uncharted cosmic highways and the space between.
Suspended above
Craters on the surface like
Starlight Freckles, in the vacuum
of my celestial room, I hang like a chandelier
a satellite, me.
Illuminating my weightlessness
with a charged night
I am tethered to your
Pull
in return, I am a tidal
force of talismans
so close
lies a form, recognizable
looking, during
our nights together
- face of the moon
C V
Education
2012 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
Solo Exhibitions
2010 Impossible Yawning Galaxies. Earth and Fire Gallery
2008 Invisible Currents. Staircase Café, Hamilton, Ontario
Group Exhibitions
2019 Love Transforms: Queen Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2019 Paper Trail: Environments: Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2018 The Vam Exhibition: Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, Ontario. Juried
2017 Affordable Art Fair: The Freedome Factory, Toronto, Ontario
2017 Romanticism: Harbord Art Studio, Toronto, Ontario
2016 Cosmic: The Roncy Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.
2015 Wild Inspiration: Nest Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2013 Blue Breathing of Recycled Thoughts: Blackoutfest, Toronto, Ontario
2013 Foraged: Nuit Blanche. El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario
2012 97th Annual OCAD University Graduate Exhibition. OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Rock and Roll IV: A Celebration of Stone Lithography. OZ Studios, Toronto, Ontario
2012 8 Vignettes. The Music Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Black Sheep: OCADU Printmaking Thesis Exhibition. Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Impromptu (But In English) 362 Euclid Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.
2011 Rock and Roll III: A Celebration of Lithography. Function 13 Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2011 The Art of the Figure. Great Hall, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
2011 Rock and Roll II: A Celebration of Lithography, Sleeping Giant Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2010 Group Expression. Studio 561. Toronto Ontario
2009 Planting of Washi Seeds. Japanese Paper Place. Toronto, Ontario
Print Exchanges and Portfolios
2011 Obfuscation Print Exchange Portfolio. OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
2011 OCAD University Print Exchange Portfolio. OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
Professional Activities
2010 Master Printer to Lauren Nurse. There Will Be Printing in the Streets. Printopolis, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
Workshops/Events
2017 The Art Nebula Project - Artist in Residence on That Channel. 6 Episodes- Toronto, Ontario - Audiences Choice in Episode 3 and 4
2012 Technician, Papermaking Workshop with Wendy Cain – Continuing Education. Loyalist College, Belleville, Ontario
2011 Art Workshop. The Rhythm of the Line. Grades 2-4. Clinton Street Junior Public School. Toronto, Ontario
2011 Lithography. Process of a Lo-Shu Wash. OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
2010 Bookbinding. Papermaking with Recycled Materials, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
Publications
2018 CBC Arts - Inktober Highlights Across the Country, Online Article, Leah Collins, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Aboriginal Art, Creative Impulse. Vol. 4, P. 4-5. OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
2011 Micropages of Thought. The Future of the Book. Walker, George. Toronto Reference Library, Toronto, Ontario
Residencies
2018 Algonquin Provinical Park's Artist in Residence. Highlighted Texture: A Journey into the Hidden Surfaces in Algonquin Provincial Park