Michele Leclaire: ​Sea of Memory

Dear Memory,
​September 11 - October 3, 2020

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In Conversation with Michele Leclaire: Virtual Artist Talk

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Artist Statement
I move through the fluidity of time as my fingers glide over piles of photographs. My studio is littered with evidence of loved ones and events past. I shuffle these memories, picking and choosing with whom to talk. Conversations direct the paintings, one to the next.

Although my work is highly personal, I hope by closely examining thoughts on family, erosion of memory, the shape of space a person leaves behind, and even the imagination of childhood, that I am creating something universal. Who has not experienced loss, deterioration of time and clung to photographs as artifacts or relics? Who has not dangled their legs over water and imagined the creatures lurking below the surface?

​Artist Biography
Michele Leclaire holds degrees in visual arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her undergraduate work focused on printmaking and drawing, while her MFA concentration was on painting.

Greatly influenced by the Academy’s atelier training, Leclaire left undergrad in love with materials, process, and the human form. Her father’s sudden death occurred during the first year of MFA studies. This traumatic event turned Leclaire’s creative energies inward. She became fascinated with old family photographs and the distortion of memory. Leclaire continues to explore the effects of time on memory in her search to connect with those who have passed from life. Looking to distill the essence of a moment captured by the camera or combine moments that span decades, Leclaire creates new memories to continue the conversation with the past.

Michele currently lives and works in Flint, Michigan.