Catherine Magnan is attracted to the many facets of a forest and she depicts them through her pencil drawings. She maintains this connection, which she expresses through observational sketching. At times, she senses how she will render the plants before she even begins to draw them. The artist then records them in more detail by collecting and photographing the greenery that interests her. While her drawings are true to life, before coming up with the final product, Magnan plays with formats, composition, textures and designs, resulting in works that verge towards the abstract.

With her drawings, Catherine Magnan introduces us to the forest environment through things that have caught her attention during walks through the woods or simply in her garden. All types of greenery appeal to her – dried, dead, wilted or buds about to burst into flower – her work challenges the viewer to pay close attention to what we can learn from nature by inspiring us or prompting us to question our beliefs. It also illustrates how, while each mushroom cap, patch of moss or leaf vein might be a fragment frozen in time, it is a vital part of a much larger natural landscape.

Catherine Magnan studied Visual and Media Arts at Laval University, where she focused primarily on printmaking. She lived in Ecuador for a number of years, perfecting her skills while teaching art to teenagers. Her work has been exhibited in that country, as well as in the Eastern Townships, Montréal and the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Recently, together with fellow artists at the Centre d’art Jacques-et-Michel-Auger, Magnan has been exploring the challenges of balancing motherhood with artistic practice.