Chanel DesRoches is a painter and printmaker based in Guelph, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Studio Art from the University of Guelph (2019) and a Master of Fine Arts from York University (2024). She focuses her interests and research around abstraction through queer studies, deviance, societal issues, anxiety, and resilience. Expressed in her painting, she often leans on deflection tactics as an easy escape and avoidance strategy in social interactions or conversations that provoke dialogue and reflection from her younger self. Her practice informs the acts of pretending and reacting to each mark, gesture, colour, and form – the removal from reality and the creation of a new in-between, something that can be revised, reimagined, and repeated. Driving from personal experience, Chanel relentlessly engages with painting in the moment, allowing herself to interchangeably utilize intuition and compulsion as a means for mark making.

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www.chaneldesroches.com

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Instagram: @chaneldesrochesart

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Bio Coming Soon...

Bio Coming Soon...

Katie Ruzycki is a visual artist based in Guelph, Ontario. Originally from Port Colborne, Ontario, she relocated to Guelph in 2016 to pursue her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, where she earned a double major in Studio Art and History. In 2021, she also completed her certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management at Humber College.

Katie’s studio practice is grounded in painting as a form of escapism into the natural world, often drawing from childhood memories of family trips to Ontario’s provincial parks. Her work evokes a sense of calm and reflection, blending representational and expressive styles to explore how nature offers balance in an increasingly fast-paced world. She works primarily in acrylic and oil, while also experimenting with charcoal for texture and depth.

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Deeply inspired by the work of the Group of Seven, especially Tom Thomson and Emily Carr - whose art filled her family’s home - Katie also finds energy and freedom in the bold, imaginative style of Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko. Her use of vibrant colours and abstraction encourages Katie to push the boundaries of her own compositions.

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Her time spent on Guelph’s walking trails, spending time near running water, and nature photography all play a key role in her creative process; serving as both reflection and research. Katie is currently working on a series of large-scale commissioned nature paintings that explore emotional memory through expressive landscapes.

28 years young, Melissa Brunner (she/her) is a Deaf, Queer, and Disabled visual artist. Born and raised in Guelph, Melissa's artistry explores the interplay of intuitive emotion and bold, expressive colour, crafting paintings that invite awe, reflection, and a meaning deeper than intention. She is known for her insightful watercolour portraits that capture subtle nuances in mood. Her hands intuitively reach for watercolour paints, but you can find her creating with acrylic + oil paints, polymer clay, embroidery, crochet, and drawing silly little sketches in her little notebook. 

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In light of Covid-19 in 2020, Melissa’s commitment to her professional art practice began with completing commissioned watercolour portrait paintings. With the increasing virtual accessibility and events, she finally found herself in Deaf, disability and 2SLGBTQ+ friendly spaces that she struggled to have found herself in. In 2021, she was featured in an online collaborative exhibition named “Deaf Interiors” alongside 5 Deaf artists from across Canada. In 2023, she participated in a local collaborative exhibition named “Neophyte Club” with 12 local visual and musical artists. With multiple grant fundings awarded since 2022 by Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and Guelph Arts Council since, she underwent multiple transformative mentorships and completed several successful artistic endeavours. 

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These days, you can find her one of her creative spirals in her studio or find her cheesing with her creations at Deaf community booth events as well as local queer art crawls.

After completing an Honours BA in Fine Art from the University of Guelph, Nancy continued her art studies through workshops in Canada and the United States, studying with Peter Kolsnyk and John Leonard in Canada and Steve Aimone and Nicholas Wilton in the US.  Working in sculpture, painting and mixed media, she has participated in the Toronto Outdoor Exhibition as well as over 100 solo, group and juried exhibitions.

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This award-winning artist has always been intrigued with the endless potential of abstract and non-objective painting. She is drawn to colour and gestural mark making.  She often distills past memories of landscape into her highly imaginative paintings. 

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