Silhouettes by Ginette Melanson on Display at Assumption Gallery

3/12/2019 12:00:00 AM

Daring strokes with a palette knife create silhouettes that take shape rapidly on canvas yet retain a somewhat ambiguous air of mystery. The abstract realism of Ginette Melanson’s works featuring these dreamlike silhouettes is on display to visitors to the Assumption Gallery during the months of March and April 2019.

With a twinkle in her voice, the artist announces that in this series of works, the ball gowns and tuxedos in which her figures are typically clothed have been replaced by more professional apparel. “I often find my inspiration in contemporary life, nature, the city and the world around me,” she says. “Since this exhibition was taking place at Assumption Place, I asked myself what kind of people use the building, and the answer was business people. This is the vision I adopted for my works.” She added that the theme she chose, “S’habiller pour réussir” (“Dressing for success”), found its inspiration in the throngs of working figures that inhabit this series of creations.

A self-taught artist, Ms. Melanson likes the fluid nature of acrylic paint which, however, also requires her to work fast since it dries so quickly. She also explored a new technique by creating all 10 works in the exhibition simultaneously through an approach reminiscent of the efficiency of mass production, just as in the working world in which her figures live. “After the preliminary sketching was done, I painted all the backgrounds and then created all the faces,” she explains. “Next, I added one colour at a time to all of the works at once.” She was pleased with the outcome as well as the speed of this process.

Although Ms. Melanson first took up painting more than 15 years ago, it was only within the last few years that she began using acrylic paint. Her art is almost a full-time passion that she juggles with her work as an esthetician operating her own salon. “S’habiller pour réussir” at the Assumption Gallery is her fourth solo exhibition.

The Assumption Gallery displays paintings of contemporary, modern and popular art, works exploring traditional or folk themes, sculpture and photographs from professional Canadian artists. Six exhibits are presented annually, each two months in length. It is located at 770 Main Street, on the ground floor of the Assumption Place building, in Moncton.