Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Silence Awareness Existence program / FEBRUARY 2020
Melanie Furtado
Canada
www.melaniefurtado.com
About
Melanie Furtado is a sculptor from the west coast of
Canada. Her sculptures revolve around the representation
of the human body through portraits, solitary individuals or
groups of figures. Each sculpture is shaped by hand from
direct observation using the earthy malleability of clay. Once
this modeling is complete, the piece is transformed into
elemental materials such as cast glass, lost-wax bronze or
fired clay. Melanie involves individuals from all walks of life to
collaborate as models for her sculptures. Her work explores
the human experience and our relationships to each other
and to ourselves through the use of body position, volume
and space.
Sculpting
My month at Arteles was a time of re-connection with nature,
stillness and silence in the excellent company of a community
of artists.
I had the joy of creating a new figure sculpture in my current
series of Women in collaboration with performance artist and
previous resident Giulia Mattera. This sculpture was created
from direct observation, slowly building up the forms in clay
over 9 days to create a representation of her body. This clay
piece was then molded and cast into plaster.
Each of the artists in residence inspired me with their various
practices and creative approaches. They all kindly agreed to
participate in a drawing project, wherein they sat completely
still gazing out my bedroom window for 15 min while I created
a small portrait sketch of their profile.
The month also afforded the opportunity to develop a sauna
addiction, to enter deep reflection during the silent days, and
to be inspired by the Finnish landscape.
I leave Arteles with both a greater sense of clarity and with
new questions.