Biography

Melanie Rocan has recently completed her Masters in Fine Arts, painting program at Concordia University, in Montreal. In 2003, she graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree, thesis in painting.  In 2008, her work was included in painting survey exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, in Toronto in conjunction with a release of Magenta Foundation’s Carte Blanche Volume 2 painting.  In 2007, she was part of a group exhibition at the Leonard & Bina Ellen gallery, in Montreal, and her thesis exhibition was shown at Concordia University and in Toronto, at Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery. She was also selected as a semi-finalist in the 9th annual RBC painting competition, had a solo-exhibition at the artist run centre in Saint-Boniface, La Maison des Artistes Visuels Francophones, and a two-person show at The Project Room, in Glasgow, Scotland.  In 2006 she was nominated for the first time as a semi-finalist in the RBC painting competition, and her work was included in group exhibition travelling to galleries across Canada, including Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto and the Contemporary Art Gallery of Vancouver. During that year Melanie was also part of a group exhibition Supernovas, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and a Too-Sicks exhibition at gallery 1.1.1, at the University of Manitoba.  In 2005, she was part of an exchange program with the Glasgow School of Art, in Scotland and had a solo-exhibition entitled Familiar Places, at the Paul Petro Art Contemporary Art Gallery, in Toronto.  In 2003 she was part of the Young Winnipeg Artists group exhibition at Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art and a Too-Sicks collective show À La Planche, at the Annex Gallery, in Winnipeg.