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Melanie Authier: Chain Links

It’s so refreshing to see a painting show that is about painting, about exploiting the potential of the medium. Modernist it may sound, but in Melanie Authier’s competent hands, this exploratory approach is fresh and definitely contemporary. For her first solo exhibit in Toronto, Georgia Scherman Projects introduced this RBC Canadian Painting Competition honourable mention recipient alongside select works by accomplished abstract painters Harold Town, Jack Bush, Oscar Cahén and Joan Mitchell. Interspersed throughout the gallery, these gems provided a context for painterly abstract language and situated Authier within a lineage of lasting strength and ongoing renewal. Authier’s six paintings were dominant here, both in size and potency of palette, but they engaged in a telling dialogue with the works of her elders. It was actually quite surprising yet visually satisfying to note the links among the selection of paintings.

Melanie Authier Colossus 2009 Courtesy Georgia Scherman Projects

Authier’s Colossus nods respectfully to Town’s Untitled and Mitchell’s Untitled Diptych II 5/6, as each painting contains twisted and curving vertical strokes full of movement and energy. Although each artist uses a distinct palette, the arrangement of line and form acknowledges a kinship. All three paintings are anchored by density in the lower portion of the canvas. Layered treatment and upward gestures at once push the viewer away, pull them back in and finally lift the eyes to spare yet expressive upper areas.

“Melanie Authier: Chain Links” 2009 Installation view Courtesy Georgia Scherman Projects

Bold, saturated colours, such as acidic pinks and oranges, and masses of gestural paint applied both thickly and thinly characterize Authier’s paintings. The result is an explosion of colour and form; painterly strokes and crisp edges cohere to create depth, dimension and space defined by a deft placement of colour. They generate excitement, confusion, and a physical push and pull that require engagement to fully comprehend the sumptuous use of pigment.

Joan Mitchell Untitled Diptych II 5/6 1975 Courtesy Georgia Scherman Projects

Authier incorporates elements of landscape into an otherwise abstracted image using techniques associated with expressionist as well as hard-edge painters. In doing so, she simultaneously tackles some defining positions in the history of painting. Rather than choosing a side or an approach within abstract practice, she embraces all possibilities. With an eye for colour and proficiency with her brush, Authier refuses to acknowledge the question “Is painting dead?” Instead, she attempts to give it new life. (133 Tecumseth St, Toronto ON)

Melanie Authier Chameleon’s Broach 2009 Courtesy Georgia Scherman Projects

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