Liz Menard: Nature of the River – Nick Novak Fellowship Exhibition

Each year, Open Studio awards three scholarship/fellowship residencies to artists of merit, as chosen through an annual juried selection process.The Nick Novak Fellowship is awarded to an artist currently involved with Open Studio as an Artist Member. To learn more about our Scholarship/Fellowship program, please click “Scholarships” in the menu to the left.

Open Studio thanks the Donald O’Born Family for their kind support of the 2011-12 Scholarship/Fellowship Program.

Nature and the environment inspire Liz Menard’s Nature of the River. Sustaining environmental biodiversity is important and a recurring theme in her work. She is interested in native and invasive species and the natural, abandoned and built environments where they live. Fascinated by the Don River, Menard researched archival maps and images, which she combined with personal explorations (on foot and by canoe) to create hand drawn etched copper plates exploring what was and what is the Nature of a river. This work is rich in detail and open ended to engage viewers and encourage dialogue about our role in helping nature and the environment continue to withstand the pressures, stresses and tests of our times.

Liz Menard (Nick Novak Fellowship recipient) is a Toronto artist, printmaker and educator. Menard’s work is exhibited and collected in Canada and the United States. Liz has exhibited in many group exhibitions. Solo exhibitions include Wasteland and The City (2011), Nature and The City (2011), Fandango in Washi (2011) and Ephemerals (2009).