🎧 Marianne Chénard: Crafting Connections Between Humanity and Nature Dylanna Fisher

Appears in the November 2024 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.

Throughout history, artists have been critical in promoting environmental awareness and sustainability, creating a deeper connection between people and the natural world. Marianne Chénard, a ceramic artist from Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, goes beyond traditional boundaries to explore how the human experience, the environment, and overall sustainability interact.

Exploring Art Through Environment

During the COVID-19 pandemic, finding or using studio space was difficult. This encouraged Chénard to take her artwork to the outdoors throughout Canada and the United States. Chénard found inspiration in nature, which she transformed into her studio. 

Projects like Drawing. Pine Trees, Drawing. Fire, and Drawing. Glacier exemplify Chénard’s innovative artistic approach. Her creations offer an added awareness of being in nature by bringing nature indoors. Each installation bridges urban areas and natural environments, with a printed photograph and a physical ceramic installation accompanying the gallery’s work. By directly engaging with nature, she draws attention to the impact of human actions on nature. Bringing those elements inside, like fire-charred clay, salt water, or buried raw clay, challenges the separation between urban and natural landscapes. 

“In my new work, the location isn’t important. I don’t focus anymore on the human perception of ownership of a space or territory. The opposite, I purposely take photos of the elements with as few recognizable elements as possible so the viewer can’t pinpoint and try to make sense of where they are.” explains Chénard, “It turns the attention back to the nonhuman. And it isn’t about the human being there but about the action of the natural element in place and our response to it.“ 

Structure and Intervention 

The installation, Drawing. Pine Trees (2020), takes the viewers on a journey through a dense pine forest. The artwork consists of a photo printed on watercolor paper and a raw clay sculpture. Chénard’s deep connection with nature makes this piece particularly intriguing as the raw clay sculptures bear the imprint of the forest’s essence after being buried there for a month. It’s interesting to see and smell the impact of the forest’s soil on the raw clay. This infusion of natural elements adds a layer of sincerity to the artwork, serving as a symbolic and tangible bridge between the human and natural realms. 

Within the photograph, Chénard’s meticulous drawing emphasizes the solidarity of the pine trees, drawing parallels between their organized presence and the structured nature of human intervention. The deliberate placement of the clay painting at Chénard’s height provides an immediate comparison between the art and the artist. These lines, painted in clay, are seen in the photographic portion of Drawing. Pine Trees. Chénard added a personal touch to the artwork by interacting directly with the landscape. 

The ephemeral quality of the drawing becomes a moving metaphor for the impermanence of our influence. As rain begins to fall, the carefully crafted brush strokes on the pine trees are slowly washed away, leaving almost no trace behind. Drawing. Pine Trees is not merely a static representation of a forest but a dynamic and immersive exploration of the interconnectedness between human existence and the natural world. 

Performance with Clay 

Drawing. Fire (2021) is a mesmerizing installation that unfolds as a captivating performance within a winter landscape. The piece features an inkjet photograph printed on watercolor paper where Chénard orchestrates an evocative scene where the warmth of the color contrasts with the frigid winter backdrop, creating a visually striking experience. She meticulously arranges wood pieces in a circular formation and sets them ablaze in a controlled fire. The controlled inferno serves as a canvas for the artist’s interaction with the flames as she throws clay imprints into the fire, capturing the moment of combustion. 

Chénard’s use of clay, which retains the coloring, scent, and organic matter from the forest, emphasizes the cyclic nature of both the artwork and the environment it represents. At the same time, others bear the imprints of the heat or crack under the pressure of water expelled too rapidly from the matter, introducing an element of unpredictability and natural variability. Then, they’re placed in a circular porcelain art piece resembling a subdued fire pit. 

Chénard’s artwork Drawing. Fire uses fire, wood, and porcelain to create an immersive winter landscape that highlights the beauty and power of nature. It contemplates balancing human intervention and elemental forces shaping our environment. 

Materials and Movement 

Drawing. Glacier (2021) is a stunning display that uses food-grade salt, beeswax, water, and soda ash to transform the gallery into a frigid landscape, immersing viewers in the beauty and fragility of a frozen landscape. Chénard’s creative process involves drawing with food-grade salt on a large piece of ice, creating a circle that symbolizes the ecosystem and the cycles within. This circle draws parallels between the delicate dance of salt, ice, and tide and the vulnerability in the face of environmental changes. 

The installation’s imagery and physical elements connect to the larger global context of melting glaciers and icebergs. Chénard’s work emphasizes the profound impact of these colossal ice formations on the landscape, highlighting how they are shaped and transformed by the relentless movement of wind, water, snow, and ice. 

The installation prompts viewers to reflect on the fate of these giant icebergs, drawing attention to their collapse, underwater currents, breakage under pressure, and the journey they undertake with the tide. 

Consider the Nature Around You 

Each of these installations brings the environment into the room, serving as a conduit for raising awareness, promoting sustainability, and driving cultural change. Chénard’s art is a call to action, urging us to reevaluate our relationship with the natural world and inspiring a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of all living things. As we navigate the complexities of environmental stewardship, Chénard’s work stands as a beacon, guiding us toward a more profound understanding of our place within the intricate tapestry of life. 

To learn more about Marianne Chénard’s artwork, visit her website at mariannechenard.com. 

the author Dylanna Fisher is a skilled journalist based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has eight years of experience writing for various publications, including Switching Styles, The Griff, Toxic Dolls, Comicosity, and Global News . In 2019, Fisher received the Data Journalism Award from the Canadian Association of Journalists for her investigative reporting role at the Institute of Investigative Journalism in Montreal. She is an expert in her field and passionate about telling stories. You can find out more about her and her work at dylannafisher.com.