MONTRÉAL, CANADA

COLLEEN DWYER MELOCHE

Hiding

$3,661.00
Exhibition Submission Statement

In conversation with What Holds, my Unravel sculptures explore what happens when
containment begins to falter. Where the lidded form offers security and closure, my pieces lean toward openness, collapse and transformation. Constructed with paper clay, they balance at the edge of stability, holding together even as they start to crumble.

For me, unravelling is not an ending but a passage into becoming—a space where
boundaries blur and what was concealed begins to surface. These delicate forms suggest that revelation emerges through instability, that release can hold as much meaning as protection. The thin, ribbon-like accumulations of pattern and material in these sculptures subvert the weight of emotional depth mined for growth, and embody the inevitability of unravelling. In this way, my practice extends the inquiry of the exhibition: not only what holds, but what resists holding, what dissolves, and what new forms of belonging might appear through the very act of coming undone.

Dimensions: 12"H x 14"W x 14"D

Material: Paperclay and glaze

Artwork ships: beginning october 22nd

Hiding

Colleen Dwyer, 2024
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Artist Statement

I create structures with paper clay to investigate the idea of unravelling. Each sculpture features multiple resting points playfully blurring the line between place and purpose, seen and unseen. My work investigates the interplay of nature and culture as they shape our understanding of balance and belonging.

Through precarious and intuitive handwork, I construct loose vessels in clay to work out the paradox and tension between individuality and community. With inviting arches and forbidding angles, my sculptures capture moments of material wonder and connection in clay. The history of handwork plays a meaningful role in my process and drives my interest in the visual stories conveyed by inanimate objects.I am fascinated by the ways emotions colour moments in time and how the cherished and reviled parts of an experience blend suffering with joy. Paper clay subverts the meaning of “thin places” as points of weakness to prove a place of mysterious possibility. The delicate, ribbon-like strips reference intricate systems, material adaptability, and the layered sensibility of collage.

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About the Artist

Colleen Dwyer Meloche is a ceramic artist whose practice is narrated by the interplay of nature and culture as they relate to notions of balance and belonging. Her work engages the malleability of material to imitate and transform, and questions the concept of thin places to explore the threshold between the seen and the unseen. She constructs sculptures with ribbon-like strips of paper clay to explore the evolving nature of becoming — how it can be achieved, disrupted and restored — and the precarious space of paradox and purpose. Elements of collage, colour and texture thread together themes of transition, tension and mystery.

Colleen received her BFA with distinction from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She has participated in long-term ceramic internships in both Montreal and France. Colleen has also studied drawing in Italy and has exhibited her work in France, the United States and Canada.

Artist cv

COLLEEN DWYER MELOCHE

Education

2011 Concordia University, BFA (Honors), Ceramics

1995 Hamline University, BA, French Literature and Education


Group Exhibitions

2025 DesignTO solo exhibition, Euro Tile & Stone showroom, Toronto, Ontario

2022 Teachers Exhibition, Visual Arts Centre, Westmount, Quebec

2012 Material Matters, VAV Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2011 In Flux, Gaia Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2011 Go figure, VAV Gallery, Montreal Quebec

2010 Fired Up, Gaia Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2009 Raw/Medium Rare/Well Done, FOFA Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2009 Are We There Yet?, Les Territoires Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2008 Céramique 14 Paris, Salon de la Céramique d’Art Contemporaine, Paris, France

2008 Reflections, Gaia Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

2002 Presence and Passion, Centre de Céramique Bonsecours, Montreal, Quebec


Art Fairs

2023 The SOUK Design Show, Montreal, Quebec

2022 Teachers Exhibition (Juried), McClure Gallery, Westmount, Quebec

2017 Signé Local Art Fair, Brossard, Quebec

2016 Made In Montreal Pop Up, Montreal, Quebec

2016 Souk@SAT, Montreal, Quebec

2015 Souk@SAT, Montreal, Quebec

2002 Iris Art Gallery, Baie St. Paul, Quebec

2002 Spring in Pots, Studio-Boutique Gaia, Montreal, Quebec

2002 In Black and White, Manu Reva, Montreal, Quebec

2001 In Black and White, Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin


Professional Development

2016-Present Ceramics Teacher, Visual Arts Centre, Westmount, Quebec

2023 Professional Mentorship Program with artist Naomi Clement, Online

2019-2021 The Ceramics Congress, Online Ceramic Art Symposium

2001 Ceramic Internship, Atelier Transit, Montreal, Quebec

2000 Ceramic Internship, Office Franco-quebecois pour la Jeunesse, Ollioules, France


Awards

2025 Juror’s Choice Award at DesignTO for the UNRAVEL exhibition

Other works from the WHAT HOLDS Exhibition