In her solo-presentation, From Fruit to Flower Hamilton-based artist Nicole Levaque showcases her additive method of creating sculpture. The artist often revisits previous works, adding to and refiring ceramics to the edge of their structural integrity.  As part of this material exploration, she frequently applies new glazes to her works that result in highly textural and ornate surfaces. These glazes mimic references from the natural world: sea foam, barnacle buildups, colonies of lichen and moss, and concrete worn under slow drips of water intrusion.

For the artist, the gesture of building upon many layers of glazes is akin to the practice of worldmaking where her sculptures populate an ever-increasing cast of characters. While many of these works resemble forms overtaken by botanical motifs, others are rooted in specific locations such as Clay Shield using bricks washed ashore in Hamilton. More broadly, the durational and transformative process of ceramic making, from mouldable clay to sculptural forms, connects to the artist’s experience of interiority and chronic pain.

 Purpose-built for this exhibition, Levaque has created a site-specific mosaiced plinth. Situated like an archipelago in the gallery space, it presents the ceramics at an elevated height akin to architectural models—emphasizing the bodily, organic and transformative qualities of her works.

Nicole Levaque (b.1991, Hamilton) holds an MFA in Sculpture and Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University (2019) and a BFA in Painting from Concordia University (2014). Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally including at Hamilton Artist Inc, Visual Art Centre of Clarington, Tap Gallery (Montreal), the Front Gallery (New Orleans), True Luck Gallery (Richmond), Spriten Kunsthall (Skien, Norway), York University (Toronto) and Guadalarjara90210 (Mexico City). She has been an artist in residence at The Visual Arts Centre of Richmond (Richmond, Virginia), Mildred’s Lane (Narrowsburg Ny), and held the Sculpture Practicum position at The Banff Center (Banff, Alberta). She has been supported through grants from the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Levaque has worked as an adjunct professor of sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University and currently teaches through the Art Gallery of Burlington.