Melisa Taylor Metzger
ARTIST STATEMENT
Melisa Taylor Metzger is known for her large, pulsating compositions created through the singular use of tools and materials sourced from the realms of home renovation and commercial design. At the core of her visual language is a reimagining of the tradition of painting on panel—where the wood surface becomes, for the artist, an active medium rather than a passive support. Using fire to draw, Metzger “awakens the wood from its dormant state. Her labor-intensive practice merges unconventional methods to introduce unpredictability into the painting gesture. She hand-cuts one-time-use stenciled grids and subjects these detailed surfaces to a final, risky, and potentially defacing intervention. For the artist, this process embodies the notion of “fallible systems,” where acts of mechanical precision and tedious repetition are deliberately exposed to the forces of chance. Metzger notes, “If the piece withstands this disruptive process and the layers reach harmony, then the painting appears as a visual poem, made by both machine and human, with no clear attribution to either.” The resulting works breathe with spectral and biomorphic motifs that flicker within obscuring lattices, evoking dreamscapes filtered through the enticing glow of screens. While reflecting the overwhelming influx of data and stimuli in contemporary life, her work seeks to temper the noise of this virtual reality, offering a space for contemplation of the blurred boundary we inhabit between reality and fiction. Enduring themes such as memories, identity, and music inspire her studio practice.
Melisa's paintings have been exhibited and acquired by private and corporate collections around the world. She lives and works in Quebec City, Canada.
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