Melanie Lefebvre

BIO

Born in 1976 in Montreal, Mélanie Lefebvre lives and works in Shefford in the Eastern Townships. After a number of years working as a project manager in the field of graphic design, she decided to go back to school to study the visual arts. She graduated from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) with a visual arts certificate and bachelor’s degree (BFA) and it was during this period that she discovered a passion for painting. Following her graduation, several galleries in and around Montreal started to show her work and Loto-Québec acquired two of her paintings (from her Horizons series) to add to its collection. Over the years, Lefebvre has taken part in several group exhibitions (notably at the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke) as well as international shows in London, Miami, Toronto and New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Mélanie Lefebvre’s work is informed by the region in which she lives, in particular the forest. The artist’s approach to her work is analytical and contemplative and her in-depth observations of her natural surroundings lead her to depict landscapes that are both detailed and romantic. Lefebvre explores certain connections between human beings and trees, by exploring the emotions that bubble to the surface when walking through a forest and realizing that the soil under your feet is teeming with life!

Each painting invites viewers to truly immerse themselves in the forest, so they can better observe, smell, hear and understand it. Through the play of light and by altering the dimensions of a subject, the artist shows how you can interpret a landscape in many different ways. Thus the depiction of say, a smudge of paint, can also be viewed as a particular shape, a splash of light, a piece of textured material – harking back to the spontaneity and distorted imagery that were characteristic of the Impressionist and Expressionist movements.